A 17-acre parcel of land adjacent to Heathcote Health has been earmarked for the project, which aims to provide compassionate community care for people in all stages of their journey with dementia.

The Heathcote community has been working towards establishing a dementia village in the township for about seven years.

The proposed site has been named Gilbruk Place, meaning place of respect in the language of the land's traditional owners, the Taungurung people.

Story continues below video

Gilbruk Place would be home to a 150-bed facility, which would accommodate for everything from assisted living through to palliative care.

Advance Heathcote envisages a mixture of one and two bedroom apartments and cluster-style accommodation.

Its vision for the site includes a supermarket, a hairdresser, a cafe and library, and green spaces.

Concept designs also include a lake and a farm nursery.

The land is on Herriot Street, a site which Advance Heathcote secretary Sandra Slatter said would enable the facility to tap into services and support from Heathcote Health and the nearby GP clinic.

A proposed community garden, a dog park, the O'Keefe Rail Trail and the men's shed are also nearby.

The Heathcote community has been preparing to welcome more residents with dementia into it midst, with businesses and organisations undergoing audits to ensure they are dementia and disability-friendly.

There are hopes for a clinical trial and for a virtual research and innovation hub linked to the project.

Story continues below document

Advance Heathcote is also working on plans for a dementia-friendly display home, showcasing innovations to support people with dementia to remain in their own homes.

Both the display home and the virtual research and innovation hub are planned for Heathcote Health land.

Those projects are expected to continue while planning for Gilbruk Place is underway.

Ms Slatter said an independent consultant was in discussions with potential facility operators and investors.

"In the research we've done we have not been able to find anywhere else that has all this supportive care already in place for a dementia village," Ms Slatter said.

It was hoped there would be pathways to Gilbruk Place from a planned lifestyle community - a separate, privately-owned project that would be nearby.

Have you signed up to the Bendigo Advertiser's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in central Victoria.