Anger is brewing in the city’s east over plans to develop a multi-million dollar retirement village in Strathfieldsaye, with one resident likening the proposal to a caravan park.
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Developer Gannon Lifestyle Communities plans to build a 196-lot estate on Strathfieldsaye Road, near the Ryalls Lane intersection, but the City of Greater Bendigo has thus far received 62 objections and a petition regarding the development.
The village will operate under the land lease model, whereby residents pay for their houses but lease the land underneath, while houses on the estate will be movable, which has drawn unfavourable comparisons from neighbouring home owners.
Nearby resident Shelley Dyett believed the development was inappropriate in a semi-rural area, and would devalue properties surrounding the village.
“It's like having a caravan park there - it's not nice residential homes,” she said.
“We moved out here 20 years ago and there were no blocks under an acre, and that's changing which is progress and there’s not a lot we can do about that. But that type (development proposal) is too much in an area that is supposedly semi rural.”
The community has further concerns regarding traffic flow onto an already busy main road, Ms Dyett said.
The developer plans to create slip lanes for the entrance to the estate and make the exit from the village a left-hand only turn, meaning vehicles looking to head west on the thoroughfare will have to use the roundabout further down the road.
“To have upwards of 200 people coming in and out of there, that's a lot different,” Ms Dyett said.
Gannon Lifestyle Communities chief executive officer Jane Monk said she understood a petition opposing the development had been received by the City of Greater Bendigo.
Ms Monk said the estate was being built under the Residential Tenancies (Caravan Parks and Moveable Dwellings Registration & Standards) Regulations 2010 Act, under which units must be movable, but in reality they would be quality-built timber-frame homes.
“Homes are designed to be relocatable because that’s the requirement under the legislation. They can conceivably be removed from the estate or relocated to a different part of the estate,” she said, adding that wasn’t the primary intention of the units.
Ms Monk rejected the notion of the estate being a caravan park, suggesting it was an example of a new model being successfully applied in other areas across Australia.
The land lease model is different to traditional retirement villages as residents own their home and don’t lease it off the developer.
Read more: Developer expecting dissent
Under traditional models, residents pay an entry fee, management fee, and an amount when they leave the estate.
Land lease residents pay a monthly fee, or rent, in addition to estate management fees and homeowners can qualify for Commonwealth rental assistance.
Ms Monk said the estate is marketed for a younger retiree, perhaps those in their 60s, whereas traditional models were targeted for seventy year-olds and above.
“For us it’s not so much a difference in the return, just a different way of getting a return,” she said.
“We want to offer choice in the marketplace because not everybody likes the current offering.”
The village will be constructed in stages, with 21 lots, a community centre and 10 visitor car parking spaces to be constructed initially.
The 135 three-bedroom houses expected to be built will measure 13 x 20.5 metres, while the 61 two-bedroom units are smaller, at 9.6 x 20.5 metres.
Bendigo council has created a town plan for the area, which is forecast to grow from an estimated 5700 people in 2016 to over 13,000 by 2036.
The development site is identified “to be promoted as a growth centre” under the Bendigo Urban Area Strategic Framework Plan, according to the planning application.
COGB statutory planning manager Ross Douglas said further information has been requested by referral authorities like the Country Fire Authority the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning and the North Central Catchment Management Authority.
“Once this information has been provided to the referral authorities and their formal responses received back by the city, the application will move to the next stage of assessment. Given the number of objections, it is likely the application (and the accompanying petition) will be presented to council for decision later this year,” he said.
