Another week, another retirement village proposal rejected as an ‘overdevelopment’, this time at Mona Vale on Sydney’s Northern Beaches.
Its mayor Michael Regan says the NSW government should give back power to councils to ensure developments are ‘in line’ with the local character and infrastructure of an area.
The Government introduced legislation back in 2004 to increase the supply of villages and aged care facilities – often overriding local planning policies.
However, councils and residents’ groups have been actively fighting developments in the city’s semi-rural areas. The Hills Shire has even adopted a policy of objecting to all new retirement village applications while they deal with an influx of new developments.
But there is a growing need for seniors’ housing in these areas – and it’s one that’s only set to increase. In northern Sydney, 20 per cent of the population is expected to be over 65 by 2036.
The fear of ‘geriatric cities’
Is it better to spread out developments across a wider area or build villages and aged care close to where people live so they don’t have to leave their community as they age?
These residents are funding local services and jobs – and ensuring families and friends stay connected.
Case in point: another Northern Beaches village has put forward plans to add more units and a new aged care facility – and the current residents and community are right behind it.
Their Residents’ Committee points out that residents who have had to “move away” lose the support and company of friends in the village. The new facility would allow partners and friends to visit daily and residents to keep participating in village activities, keeping them in better health.
“Most importantly, they would not live out their last years isolated in many ways from everyone they know and love,” they say.
A point that our councillors may need to remind themselves of.
