The western Sydney-based property developer, the Bluesox Group, purchased Berrima Gaol in mid 2022 and first made public their concept plans for the redevelopment of the site in December 2023 in documents prepared by Sutherland & Associates Planning which were submitted to the Department of Planning as part of its request (SEARS) to prepare an EIS.
In this 2023 document, Bluesox indicated its intention to locate the hotel accommodation between the western wall of the Gaol and the Wingecarribee River. This remains their position.
The BRA position on the redevelopment has been consistent during this period and is in line with the two community meetings held in 2024 in Berrima to discuss the project proposal at which 80% of those attending indicated their opposition to hotel accommodation being placed outside the walls of the historic Gaol.
The Association is opposed to locating the hotel accommodation outside the Gaol walls because of the adverse impact on the heritage and curtilage of the Gaol, on the historic character of Berrima and the potential adverse environmental impacts on the River and its ecology.
The BRA Committee has reviewed the key documents in Bluesox’s plans submitted in its EIS and reaffirmed, at its meeting on 23 October 2025, the Association’s position on the proposal, as follows:
- The BRA supports commercial redevelopment/adaptive re-use of the Gaol, including a boutique hotel.
- The development should respect the history of the 186 year old Gaol, be appropriate to the heritage significance of Berrima and support tourism and jobs. Any hotel rooms should be inside the walls, not outside along the river. Including a Gaol & Punishment museum in the project would be a big tourist attraction.
- The community needs to be heard. The Bluesox plans should be assessed by an Independent Planning Panel.
To give you an idea of the scale of the project, the image below, copied from Appendix 5b of Bluesox’s EIS, is the architectural drawing of the eastern elevation of the hotel, with the western wall of the Gaol hidden behind. The blocks of rooms are located on the porous sandstone rock shelf above the Wingecarribee River. Bluesox estimates the coast of the project at $58m.
Bluesox’s EIS has been placed on public exhibition with submission closing on 26 November 2025.
The Berrima Residents Association is reviewing the EIS and the 46 Attachments in preparation for lodging an objection to the proposed redevelopment of the site.
If sufficient objections are received, the project will be assessed by an independent planning panel in an open, transparent process by planning and heritage experts where the community can have its say.
Our key concerns include:
- The project will permanently change Berrima’s historic colonial character and deter visitors, rather than attract them.
- Putting the ‘massed bulk’ hotel suites outside the Gaol wall on a fractured and porous sandstone rock shelf overlooking the Wingecarribee River threatens biodiversity and water quality of the River, which is part of Sydney water catchment.
- Excavation of the basement sandstone to build the ‘massed bulk’ accommodation, and a 3 storey carpark (2 levels underground) threatens the structural integrity of the historic and state-listed Gaol walls.
- Modelling indicates that the basement level of the carpark will flood (by half a metre) which poses potential safety hazards and increased flood-related pollution of the River, particularly with intensified rainfall from climate change.
- The estimated $58m cost of the project imposes a significant financial burden on the hotel, which increases the risk of the project failing with implications for the future maintenance of the historic building in good condition.