Eco-friendly village seeks green light
A GOLD Coast developer is offering a different twist on the city’s ageing population burden.
Worongary’s Lawrence Leonard Jetson wants to build an “eco” retirement village on 47,600sq m near the Country Paradise Parklands in Nerang.
According to plans filed with the Gold Coast City Council, the Billa Birra Eco Retirement Village will feature 24 dwellings, including 14 single-bedroom houses.
They will be made of 40 per cent recycled building materials and will feature “natural architecture”, vegetable gardens, solar power and self-contained water consumption facilities.
City planning boss Cr Cameron Caldwell said it was the latest in a growing number of retirement projects.
“This is an unusual boutique approach to catering for our ageing population on a smaller scale,” he said. “Council will assess this application carefully to ensure it meets planning requirements.”
It is the latest in a near billion-dollar wave of projects for the city’s ageing population.
A recent report by property consultancy firm Urbis showed retirement villages and agedcared developments would inject $952 million into the city’s economy over the next decade.
In February, the Gold Coast Bulletin revealed at least 12 retirement developments were being assessed by the council, including multiple highrises.
Gold Coast-based Real Estate Institute of Queensland board member John Newlands said developments such as the Nerang village were in increasing demand.
“We have to start accommodating more for our ageing population,” he said.
“I applaud this developer for taking it into consideration when proposing this and providing people there can get the services they need it could also pave the way for future development in the Nerang area.
“This isn’t an obvious location for it but at the same time there is a demand as people continue to downsize.”
More than 10 retirement facilities have been submitted to the council in the past year, including a $30 million, 105-bed facility at Robina by developer Japara Healthcare; an 11-level “vertical village” by Aura Holdings for Kirra’s Golden Four Rive; and the Gold Coast Jewish Foundation’s plan to build a 130-bed home at the Aged on an Arundel site.