Plan lodged for $50 million retirement village

A PLAN to build a $50 million retirement village in Torquay has been lodged with the Surf Coast Shire.

Submitted by applicant Sincock Planning, the village would be located on 15 acres of land surrounding 4 Cypress Lane (off Coombes Road) and would comprise 138 townhouses and a further 56 apartments in a four-storey central building.

There would be eight one-bedroom apartments, 44 two-bedroom apartments and four three-bedroom apartments in the central building, which would also include communal recreation facilities such as a library, seminar/cinema room, pool, gymnasium, bar/lounge, central dining room, and two consulting suites – one of which will be for visiting medical professionals and the other for a hairdresser.

The central building would have a maximum height of 12.5 metres.

According to the planning report prepared by Sincock Planning on behalf of land owners Coombes Road Pty Ltd, the site for the retirement village is on the north side of Deep Creek within the Low Density Residential Zone (LDRZ) within a subdivision that has been constructed but where no development has occurred.

“The development relies on the purchase of the public road (Cypress Lane) from the shire along with the purchase of a small public open space link to Deep Creek that was created by the existing land subdivision (public open space contribution) and which the shire have confirmed in pre-application meetings is not required for their purposes.”

The report states the development has been designed to incorporate best practice Environmentally Sustainable Design initiatives, while the drainage design within the site uses water-sensitive urban design principles that provide for wetlands and walking tracks through a natural landscape, and all buildings have a minimum 20-metre setback to Deep Creek as recommended by the Corangamite Catchment Management Authority.

Sincock Planning note that planning permission is required for both use and development of a retirement village on LDRZ land.

“The purpose of the LDRZ is to provide low-density residential development on lots which, in the absence of reticulated sewerage, can treat and retain all wastewater,” the report said.

“However, the fact that the zone allows a retirement village to be sought (eg. it is not prohibited) is suggestive that there are in fact circumstances where this form of accommodation would be appropriate and the use could be permitted.”

The report states the Surf Coast Shire’s own planning scheme identifies the need for better access to aged care services and facilities in Torquay and Jan Juc as the town’s population grows to 30,000 by 2040.

The planning application also include a residential market assessment and retirement living supply assessment of Torquay, both by Macroplan, which found 19.6 per cent of the town’s population (or 4,925 people) would be aged 65 and older by 2036, and that there would be an undersupply of up to 100 retirement dwellings by 2026 and 340 dwellings by 2036.

The Surf Coast Shire council will not make a decision on the application until at least today (Thursday, September 30).