A proposal to transform the 4.2-hectare site of the Central City Caravan Park into Central Park Village – consisting of long and short term accommodation and recreational facilities including a pool, gym, bar, library, and cinema – was lodged with the council in December 2017.

The closure of the caravan park was announced to residents in November 2016, after the business owners were unable to negotiate an extension of their lease. 

The proposal’s fate will be decided by a delegated panel of senior council officers, which is expected to be scheduled in the coming weeks.

A council spokesperson said it had been a complicated application that had experienced a range of issues, particularly due to integration with natural surrounds – namely, the Bendigo Creek.

The creek runs through the High Street property.

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An objector also raised concerns about the potential for excessive noise stemming from proposed barbecue and recreational areas, which they believed would affect nearby residents.

“Under the proposed redevelopment, this area will be continually utilised by much greater traffic,” the objector wrote.

The objector will have the opportunity to challenge the panel’s decision, which could lengthen the process.

Residents were given until December 29, 2017, to vacate the site – a deadline all 61 residents met.

Bendigo-based homelessness support and housing service provider Haven; Home, Safe helped 38 residents relocate, highlighting the pressure the caravan park’s closure would place on the city’s already strained affordable housing market.

The proposed lifestyle village aims to offer luxurious, high-quality facilities.

The application was submitted by Spiire Australia on behalf of Lococo Property, an Altona-based company that describes an aim to ‘satisfy the growing needs’ of Baby Boomers – ‘a generation whose style and quality demands are quite different from previous generations of retirees’.

Both Spiire Australia and Lococo Property were contacted for comment.

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