HOUSING HELP: Locally funded community care complex seeks final approval

A COMMUNITY-FUNDED disability accommodation project at Ocean Grove is in its final planning stages as it edges closer to becoming a reality.

Lions Club of Ocean Grove Barwon Heads has contributed $600,000 through its charitable arm the Barwon Grove Foundation to partner with local disability services provider genU for a four-person residential facility at 72 Dare Street.

The plan has been more than a decade in the making from the Lions club, which formally finalised its partnership with genU in February last year, with plans submitted to the City of Greater Geelong in July.

genU executive director Natasha Williams said the organisation anticipated a quick start to construction once it received council approval.

“We are pleased to say the we expect to hear from council about the plans in the next three weeks. Pending no objections we would like to engage a builder toward the end of July to start after winter,” she said.

“We have some very patient people waiting to move to this specialist disability accommodation which ahs been supported by genU and the Barwon Grove Foundation.”

Lions officials say their contribution aims to expediate community care accommodation projects in the Bellarine towns, where property for such uses is becoming harder to come by in a surging real estate market.

The advertised planning application shows plans to construct a new building at the site of a car park at an existing genU site at the corner of Presidents Avenue and Dare Street.

The new building would have capacity for four residents plus staff, general living amenities and a carport.

Documents provided by genU confirm it would manage the site for residents supported through the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

The planning documents also say the proposal benefits from its proximity to key Ocean Grove services, existing residential infrastructure and location within an increased housing diversity area that encourages infill development.

The present project is the latest in the string of philantrophic housing initiatives the local club has led across multiple decades.

Lions member Graham Mulroney said the club was “absolutely proud” of the project’s progress when locking in the genU collaboration last year.

“We’re interested in people with needs in the community, and we were focused on accommodation.

“We landed on disability because of our conversations with genU.

“They are very good at what they do, and there’s no doubt a need locally, so we thought it was a really good match for what we were trying to do.”

The Lions built units in 1991 at Barwon Heads that are still used today as state government-managed public housing.

The club subdivided a donated block from developers of Ocean Grove’s Kingston Estate in 2011 for two more units as part of its Barwon Grove Foundation.

That fund purchased another plot in the estate where it built two more houses – the sales of which are funding the $600,000 contribution for this genU project.

The project also earned global recognition from the Lions Clubs International president mid-last year for its contribution to the club’s mantra of “service from the heart”.

The planning application is open to view and for public comment on the city’s website until June 13.