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The coastal town ‘traumatised’ by church’s plan for four-storey seniors housing

It’s an idyllic beachside town on the state’s far north coast, blessed by sun, blue waters and open space, where property prices have grown astronomically.

More people want to live in Kingscliff than it can accommodate. But the Uniting Church’s plan to turn an aged care home into a larger seniors’ living facility has hit a familiar obstacle: community outrage.

Uniting wants to turn an 80-bed nursing home into a 120-bed facility with an extra 211 seniors’ living units.

Uniting wants to turn an 80-bed nursing home into a 120-bed facility with an extra 211 seniors’ living units.Credit: Sydney Morning Herald

Neighbours, residents’ groups and the local MP are protesting the proposed four-storey complex, even though it complies with local planning controls and would provide, in Uniting’s view, much-needed accommodation for older people.

“It’s a gross overdevelopment,” says Peter Newton, president of the Kingscliff Ratepayers and Progress Association. “It’s not aged care, it’s ‘let’s cram as many retirement units as we can into one small place’.”

Similar scenes are playing out up and down the NSW coast. Last year, Uniting was forced to scale back plans for a similar facility in Bateau Bay on the central coast, following a campaign by a local group which was still “bitterly disappointed” with the outcome.

As growing numbers of people consider a sea change or embrace remote work, the battle has only become more fraught. Coastal community groups have joined forces under a new banner, Coastal Residents United, to fight what they deem inappropriate developments.

Unhappy neighbours: Helen Edwards-Davis, Colin Lidiard, and Jeff and Anne Lane say the four-storey complex would overshadow their homes.

Unhappy neighbours: Helen Edwards-Davis, Colin Lidiard, and Jeff and Anne Lane say the four-storey complex would overshadow their homes.Credit: Sydney Morning Herald

The alliance, comprising dozens of groups from Byron Bay to South West Rocks to Tura Beach, was launched at NSW parliament last month by Greens MPs Cate Faehrmann and Sue Higginson.

Uniting owns a 2.7-hectare parcel of land in the middle of Kingscliff suburbia, partially filled by an 80-bed nursing home. The church’s property arm has been consulting the community for more than a year, and intends to lodge a formal development application later this year.

It has already cut the number of proposed buildings from eight to seven, lowered the maximum height from five storeys to four, and reduced the number of new units from 235 to 211. But that has not satisfied neighbours. Newton says they are “traumatised and really, really scared about what’s coming”.

 Helen Edwards-Davis, who is unhappy about the proposed development.

Helen Edwards-Davis, who is unhappy about the proposed development.Credit: Sydney Morning Herald

Helen Edwards-Davis, 60, moved to Kingscliff from Brisbane 12 years ago. She knows coastal living is increasingly popular, but says the four-storey development will overshadow her property and is out of step with what makes such towns appealing.

“People come to places like Kingscliff and Yamba and all these places up the coast simply because it’s low-rise, it’s low-key,” she says.

“They are totally within their rights to develop it, but I don’t think they’re within their rights to ride roughshod over the character of Kingscliff.”

Uniting’s director of property and housing Simon Furness said the area desperately needed more aged care in all forms; Uniting’s existing facilities were at the end of their useful life, and did not meet contemporary standards.

He had sympathy for the site’s immediate neighbours, but pointed out the proposal complied with the local environment plan, which allows for buildings up to 13.6 metres in height (four storeys) – plus bonuses for aged care facilities under state laws.

An artist’s impression – subject to change – of the proposed Uniting aged care redevelopment in Kingscliff NSW.

An artist’s impression – subject to change – of the proposed Uniting aged care redevelopment in Kingscliff NSW.

“We absolutely acknowledge people’s concerns and what we’ve endeavoured to do is to scale back the development in response to those concerns,” Furness said. “But we are well within the planning controls for the site.”

Furness said retirement villages were a form of affordable housing, and about 15 per cent of the development would be offered at below-market rates. The need for seniors’ living units was only going to increase as Australia’s population aged, he said. “There’s demand for it, and it’s going to have to be built somewhere.”

Geoff Provest, the Nationals state member for Tweed, agreed with nearby residents and opposed Uniting’s plan – though he conceded the uproar was largely coming from immediate neighbours, rather than the whole community.

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“There is a bit of NIMBYism with it,” he said. “I just think it’s an inappropriate development on the site. It’s surrounded on all four sides by residential houses. It’s virtually going to overshadow all these residences.”

Provest said nursing homes were “a little bit on the nose in my area” because many were being redeveloped to accommodate the growing aged population.

“They go for the maximum amount of yield and judge the amount of community angst, and will downgrade it a bit to get it through. Density is a really, really poison chalice up my way.”

Tweed Shire Mayor Chris Cherry confirmed local planning controls allowed a four-storey complex, plus height and floor space bonuses for aged care facilities under state laws. She acknowledged Uniting had already modified its plans, but said more could be done.

“I’m hoping we can still work together to get an outcome,” she said.

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