To my local council…

It does not happen often but it does happen: Warrigal Care has thanked a local council for recognising the need to earmark land, specifically for seniors living projects.

By Yasmin Noone

It is not usually a common occurrence for a developer to thank a local council for helping to speed up the often drawn out process of acquiring government land.

But that is exactly what aged care provider, Warrigal Care, has done having recently purchased a “superlot” of land earmarked for aged and retirement living development purposes only from Shellharbour Council (NSW).

With the deal done and dusted, the not-for-profit will now move ahead with plans to develop the Shell Cove property, on the NSW south coast, into a master planned community specifically for older people.

Once complete, the $43 million development will be the largest seniors’ village ever built in the Shellharbour Local Government Area. The village will include 100 retirement units; 120 aged care beds; high care, dementia care and palliative care services; a café, hairdresser, physiotherapy room and other communal facilities.

“With Shellharbour’s population estimated to increase by 50 per cent by 2021, [with] 27 per cent of the total population estimated to be over 65 [in 10 years time],” said Warrigal Care’s CEO, Mark Sewell.

“Warrigal Care has to plan to ensure older people s needs in the region will be cared for. This is why we have decided to offer more services to the oldest people in the community and the Shell Cove project was a perfect place for integrated retirement living.”

Mr Sewell said that his organisation has been working on the purchase of the land and on design plans with the local council for more than a year now. Warrigal Care will soon seek community feedback about the kind of services the village should offer in the future.

“The council has been extremely cooperative,” he said.

“It could see that Shell Cove needed [to cater] for older residents. The [estate] has a lot of services for families and children but it lacks the full aged spectrum.

“So the council earmarked the land for the purpose [of seniors living] and made it a ‘superlot’ so it couldn’t be broken up into smaller housing plots by individuals.

“…The council picked up [on the fact] that the population of the future needs planned aged services that are not just ad hoc.”

The block on Brigantine Drive was purchased from Shellharbour Council and is the last large residential parcel left between existing housing lots and the planned harbour boulevard (the main entrance road to the area’s long-awaited marina).

“Warrigal Care was started by a group of volunteers in Shellharbour 42 years ago at the top of Mt Warrigal.”

“It was the most exciting site in the new city at that time and now the planned marina is the future hub of excitement and the perfect place for our oldest citizens to enjoy their later years.”

The development application will be lodged later this year with construction due to start in 2012.

Mr Sewell estimates that this new project will also create over 140 local building, support and hospitality jobs.
 

Tags: aged-care, mark-sewell, retirement-living, seniors, shell-cove, shellharbour-council, warrigal-care,

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