Community gets behind land sale for independent housing

THERE is wide support for the Surf Coast Shire’s plan to help build independent housing units in Winchelsea, if the submissions received by the shire are anything to go by.

Winanglo Incorporated – which is associated with Corangamite Financial Services – approached the council earlier this year seeking the transfer of the ownership of the land at 42 Harding Street at no cost for the development of independent living units.

The not-for-profit organisation proposes to build between eight and 10 two-bedroom units, each with adaptable design to enable conversion to achieve essential wheelchair access and other safety measures with minimum expense.

There would be access to the neighbouring Senior Citizens Centre, if appropriate.

The target market is older people in Winchelsea and district not requiring residential care but living in housing that no longer meets their needs.

Councillors resolved at their July 23 meeting to advertise its intention to sell the land to Winanglo for $1 and invite public feedback, and held a special meeting last week to hear submissions on the issue.

The project received 254 letters of support – mostly from Growing Winchelsea members and local residents – and a survey on the proposal found 88 per cent of the 58 respondents were in favour, for reasons including that it would meet a community need for housing, make good use of vacant land, be delivered by a local group, and help Winanglo to get established so it can deliver other community projects in the future.

Nearly nine per cent of submitters did not like any aspect of the proposal, including the shire’s intentions to sell the land and the proposed sale price of $1.

Corangamite Financial Services’ John Knuckey, Winanglo’s Ken McDonald, Robert Earl and Growing Winchelsea president John Tebbutt spoke at last week’s meeting.

Mr Knuckey said his organisation had noticed the departure over the past two years of “some fantastic older residents and great volunteers” who were moving to retirement homes, mostly in Geelong, as there was nothing suitable in Winchelsea.

He said the bank had contributed a $500,000 grant towards the project as well as the establishment costs of Winanglo, which stands for Winchelsea, Anglesea and Lorne – the towns covered by Corangamite Financial Services and the locations for the project’s next stages.

“The success of this project, if we are successful in gaining the land, will be the fact that we can do a second project from the funds left over from the first project.

“We don’t see this as a one-hit wonder, the aim from the bank’s point of view is that Winanglo will be able to move forward for the next however many years with similar projects.”