The $3 million, Housing Plus-run shelter is slated for council-owned land on the corner of The Escort Way and Northern Distributor Road, with access via George Weily Place.

On Tuesday afternoon council notified stakeholders it would accept feedback on the DA until Friday, January 25 – a one-week extension on the previous timeline – and updated the proposal’s online information to that effect.

Council spokesman Nick Redmond said the deadline for submissions had been extended because of the level of community interest in this project.

“We’ve already received a large number of submissions from the community, both in favour of the proposal and opposed to it, and a number had asked for more time to make more submissions,” he said. 

“Extending the deadline will allow more time for people to have their say.”

The extension comes after a story published by the Central Western Daily on Monday outlined concerns, held by neighbouring residents, of the site’s suitability to house the 5297-square-metre shelter.

The group – who came under fire in some circles for voicing their opposition to the proposal – argued there were safety, noise, lighting and traffic issues with the location.

Speaking to the Central Western Daily, Ploughmans Hill Community Group member Trevor Heane said he believed council had advertised the DA over the Christmas holiday period in hopes of it flying under residents’ radars.

POLL: Have your say …

“They advertised it about two weeks before Christmas hoping that people wouldn’t pick up on that,” Mr Heane said.

Late last year councillors agreed to adding two weeks of exhibition time to the legally-required fortnight for DAs of the centre’s classification, with Tuesday’s extension taking the total feedback window to five weeks.

It is understood that any further extensions would delay the opportunity for councillors to vote on the proposal at the scheduled council meeting.

MAP: Where is proposed site …

Council is accepting formal submissions on the DA, which can be emailed to the general manager at council@orange.nsw.gov.au.

It will also collate online comments submitted here into a report to be “considered by council” when the proposal is voted on.

As of 9pm on Tuesday, nine comments had been lodged in this manner, including one from Nigel Denford, who wrote he is “strongly opposed to this development”.

“As home owners and ratepayers in Ploughman Hill Estate, not only were we unaware of this application, we were never consulted or part of a questionnaire. This estate does not have the infrastructure to support this establishment and this estate is at least five kilometres from the nearest shopping centre,” his comment read.

A comment posted under the name Ron disagreed, arguing “the negative impacts being expressed by others are overstated”.

“I think that Orange needs this facility, and if Housing Plus, council and the police all think that this is the best available and affordable site then they should go ahead,” he wrote.