New plea on health centre
Doctor seeks second opinion from council to meet refugee demand
PLANS for a new $1.8 million medical centre in the northern suburbs are back before City of Greater Geelong, with changes the applicant hopes will be enough to get council support.
The centre, to be built at Sparks Rd, Norlane, is the project of Corio Bay Medical Centre owner Dr Abbas Mahmood who wants to establish a bigger facility to meet growing demand, particularly from the region’s refugee community.
Original plans for the twolevel development were rejected by the council’s development hearings panel in April but Dr Mahmood hopes the revised plans will go before councillors.
“I think the elected members are more in touch with the community and what they need and they will hopefully be more sympathetic to the cause than town planners,” he said.
The rejected plans detailed space for up to 15 practitioners, a pathology collection area, pharmacy, immunisation room, 50 parking spaces and other allied health services such as physiotherapy and podiatry.
Council documents state the development was rejected because the “design, scale and intensity of the proposed use” was inconsistent with the guidelines of a residential zone.
Dr Mahmood said the decision to refuse the project was equal parts confusing and disappointing given the proximity of a school, church and sporting site he suggests are “bigger businesses” than his.
The revised plans propose a one person reduction in the number of practitioners, a later opening time and altered carpark layout.
Dr Mahmood said if the proposal was declined a second time, he would not pursue it at VCAT. But he said rejection meant it would be unwise for the region to continue accept- ing refugees when it lacked the services to care for them.
“I’ve spent too much money, it’s been too stressful, if they knock me back the second time around I will call it quits,” he said.
Dr Mahmood said the centre had “almost single-handedly” managed the healthcare needs of the refugee settlement programs for the Geelong region for the past nine years and was unable to cater for any more patients at its Goulburn Ave, Corio site.
The clinic has been able to accept only a “limited” amount of new patient referrals from Diversitat in recent months.
He said the new centre would double its capacity for the refugee service.
The facility would be built on a vacant 2850sq m former church site, about 1km from the proposed $33 million Barwon Health North centre.
The revised planning application is open for public comment until August 17.