Village Retirement Group Archives

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.

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 development application for the proposed retirement village at Oceana St in Lota has already been refused by the Brisbane City Council, but developers are already appealing the case in court.

In August 2018, the Village Retirement Group and Anglicare submitted a proposal to develop a retirement facility at 162 Oceana Tce in Lota — the site includes the heritage-listed Lota House.

The initial proposal consisted of four new buildings containing a total of 104 units, integrated within the Lota Court-Manly Anglicare Retirement Community and Edwin Marsden Tooth Memorial Home.

*Photo Credit: Brisbane City Council / pdonline.brisbane.qld.gov.au*

The proposed development would have Buildings 1 and 2 on the Oceana frontage at six storeys in height, and Buildings 3 and 4 on the Grace St frontage at seven storeys in height.

The plan was later amended, reducing the height to five and six storeys and removing one unit from the plan to provide an entry area that will connect the porte-cochere to the main lobby.

Despite the changes, the Council rejected the development application last 3 April as the council believes that the proposal was not in keeping with the character of the area and that it negatively impacts the 150-year-old heritage-listed Lota House, the existing vegetation, and traffic.

In particular, the Council cited that the “5 and 6 storey retirement facility is not consistent with the 1 and 2 storey low density residential character of the area.”

The decision also said that “the proposed 5 and 6 storey development does not complement the prevailing 1 and 2 storey low density residential scale, built form and streetscape of the surrounding area.”

The refusal comes after the local community actively called for the rejection of the proposal and more than 160 submissions, objecting to the application, were received.

The developers, however, appealed the case to the Planning and Environment court on grounds that the council did not provide sufficient basis for the refusal.

“The Development Application ought to be approved because the proposed development complies with all of the assessment benchmarks for the development. Alternatively, the Development Application ought to be approved if the proposed development does not comply with some of the assessment benchmarks.

“Further or in the alternative, the Development Application ought not to be refused as compliance with the assessment benchmarks can be achieved by the imposition of conditions,” the Notice of Appeal said.

Tag: Village Retirement Group

Construction of The Village Manly to Start in Spring

Council’s Refusal of Proposed Retirement Facility at Lota House Appealed