Mr Burrows and daughter Judy Micallef’s company, Funtime Investments Pty Ltd, own the land on which Southern Infrastructure Pty Ltd, wants to build the 1800-bed facility. 

NSW Corrections Minister David Elliot has ruled out the jail but the company has modified its unsolicited bid to the government nonetheless.

Mr Burrows said Southern Infrastructure didn’t have an option to buy his 263-hectare Mountain Ash Road property. But he is awaiting a decision on whether the company will go ahead with the proposal.

“If it doesn’t go ahead, we’ll go back to our original concept,” he said.

In 2016 Mr Burrows proposed rezoning the land to allow 134 two-hectare rural residential lots. He argued demand was strong for this size.

But the council last year delayed a decision on whether to immediately forward the rezoning proposal for a gateway determination by NSW Planning. Councillors instead wanted consultants to firstly complete a housing strategy to assess demand for the smaller rural residential lots in Goulburn.

The study, exploring broader housing needs in the city, begins with pre-strategy community consultation in April by council strategic planning staff.

“We hope to engage a consultant in early April who will begin drafting the Strategy in conjunction with staff,” a council spokesman said. 

“We anticipate a draft Strategy would be ready for public exhibition in September/October.”

Mr Burrows said he was impressed by Southern Infrastructure director Paul Watson’s abilities on past projects, including one in Dubai. Mr Watson approached him last July/August.

“He’s done a lot of big projects...“If the jail doesn’t go here, it will go somewhere else. It would be far enough out of town not to create a problem,” he said.