Despite objections from the community and delays brought about by coronavirus restrictions, the construction of The Village Manly, the $70-million retirement home development in Lota, has been scheduled to start in the spring.
Stage one of The Village Manly will consist of two four-storey buildings with 23 apartment units, with a projected completion date sometime between September 2022 – March 2023. The work will open 100 new jobs for tradies.
Details of the second stage are still scarce but The Village Manly development is expected to provide two more buildings with six levels. The development will also include a cinema, a yoga and dance studio, cafes and restaurants, a gym and pool, a hair salon, a club lounge with a billiards room, and a medical health suite.
Photo Credit: Developmenti/Brisbane City Council
Natural, open green spaces will surround the apartments whilst the heritage-listed Lota House, built in 1865, will be untouched. This was one of the main contentions of those who objected to the development plans when it was first submitted in 2018 (DA A004942635). The community feared that the medium-rise development would impact and overshadow the area’s character and habitat.
Photo Credit: Developmenti/Brisbane City Council
Brisbane City Council initially turned down the application but The Village Retirement Group and Anglicare re-appealed with the Planning and Environment Court after submitting amended plans to reduce the building’s height and the number of units.
The court overturned Council’s rejection in late 2019.
The COVID-19 pandemic will delay the redevelopment of the heritage-listed Lota House. Detailed designs of the $67 million retirement village facility, located some two kilometres off the Manly Boat Harbour, are still in the process of finalisation.
A spokesperson for the Village Retirement Group confirmed that the pandemic has impacted plans for Lota House. It comes after the Manly retirement village project received heavy opposition from Bayside residents.
Brisbane City Council previously rejected the development application but the Planning and Environment Court overturned the ruling in late 2019. Locals said that the planned retirement village will ruin the view, character area and habitat surrounding the Edwin Marsden Tooth Memorial Building (Lota House).
Photo Credit: PD Online/Brisbane City CouncilPhoto Credit: PD Online/Brisbane City Council
Located at 162 Oceana Terrace, this house was built in 1865 for William Duckett White and his family. It remained in the Duckett White family until a grandson, also named William, subdivided the estate in 1911.
In 1913, a cousin, Graham Ernest Mylne, bought the property and moved in with his wife and children. Following his death in 1958, his wife Kathleen sold Lota House to the Anglican Church. The church used the money gifted by Mr Marsden Tooth, a businessman and philanthropist, to establish a home care facility.
The Lota House was listed as a heritage site in 1992 as significant to the establishment of the upper-class estates in Brisbane’s eastern bayside area. It is one of the oldest surviving residential homes in Manly-Lota, showing a glimpse of the 1860s Georgian influence.
The property is still owned by the Anglican Church.
Why Residents Opposed Redevelopment
About 100 Bayside residents protested after the original ruling saying no to development was overturned. Locals don’t want a high-rise in the area.
“Multi-storey developments would significantly change the area and ruin it in our eyes,” one resident said. “Lota is a quiet leafy suburb with beautiful green space and picnic/playground areas on the waterfront. Increasing density opens up the area to significant commercial development. Friends, family, neighbours and locals alike that I have spoken to, invested in this area for the quiet retreat that it is.”
The Bayside Action Group also opposes the development because the planned retirement village will cost between $755,000 and $849,000 per unit.
“This means that many local residents who currently live in the area will not be able to afford these units and will need to look at options outside the area. The Anglican Church says that the local community wants this development so families can remain close, but it appears that most will not be able to afford to live in this development if built.”
This could be good news for fur-parents as Brisbane City Council prepares to trial a number of off-leash beaches in Manly, Wynnym, and other seaside suburbs across Brisbane.
Come mid-2019, a number of beaches and foreshores will be designated as off-leash areas for a year.
Currently, there are a number of off-leash beaches where Brisbane dogs can go. Some of the best beaches for pooches include the North Shore off-leash beach in the Sunshine Coast, Coolum Beach and Nudgee Beach.
Under the council’s plan, selected beaches and foreshores in Manly, Wynnum, Lota, Sandgate, Nudgee Beach, Shorncliffe, and Brighton will allow dogs, small and big, to run free within a designated area. However, dog owners will be warned that they can be fined if they unleash their pets outside the off-leash area.
The off-leash beaches trial is in response to public clamour for more freedom for their fur babies. But a possible hindrance to making beaches off-leash are the birds that treat the beaches as their temporary home.
The council plans to conduct the trial during the non-migratory period. That way, they can strike a balance in providing freedom areas for dogs, whilst still protecting the birds.
Should the trial be successful, it could lead to more off-leash beaches and foreshores in Queensland.
