73-year-old with cerebral palsy in Supreme Court fight to stop Bellara Village development

73-year-old Linda Knock is fighting in the Supreme Court to stop the owner of her retirement village carving up the land for a petrol station and fast food outlet.

A 73-year-old woman with cerebral palsy is fighting in the South Australian Supreme Court to stop the owner dividing her residential retirement village in half and building a petrol station and a fast-food outlet on the excised land.

Linda Knock, a resident at the Bellara Village in Newton is contesting the court bid by owner and operator Crawford Giles to allow the termination of the current agreement and be replaced by a new agreement that divides the property.

Under the Retirement Villages Act, an owner must win approval of all residents before the agreement can be ended.

Linda Knock is living in Bellara Aged Care Home that the owner is trying to cut in half for a redevelopment. Picture: Naomi Jellicoe

“If I don’t fight this, it opens the door for other (retirement village) owners to take advantage,’’ Ms Knock said.

Ms Knock has lived in Bellara since 2013 and said it had been a good place to live until recent years. Bellara has 28 units for permanent residents, but only around 14 are still occupied and the area earmarked for the new development has abandoned units and unkempt gardens.

“It’s not the village I moved into,’’ she said. “You don’t expect your life to be turned upside down like that.’’

Mr Giles bought Bellara in 2018 and in 2021 was granted development approval by the Campbelltown Council to build an eight-pump X Convenience petrol station and a KFC. The remaining land will continue to be a residential village.

It is believed this is the first time that a South Australian court has had to consider such an application by a retirement village operator to turn part of the village into a petrol station and fast food outlet.

Proposed changes to the Retirement Villages Act are currently before state parliament and Legislative Councillor Connie Bonaros is proposing amendments to toughen the law to give residents more safeguards and include a “community impact test’’.

“There is no question in my mind that this will be a dangerous precedent adversely impacting some of the most vulnerable members of our community” she said. “Sadly, I suspect this example is just the tip of the iceberg, if it’s happening here, it’s happening elsewhere, leaving vulnerable South Australians in a desperate situation.’’ Health Minister Chris Picton, who has oversight of the act, said he would “consider the amendments raised by Connie that have not yet been submitted to parliament’’.

Ms Knock said even if the Supreme Court knocked back Mr Giles’ application it would be hard to remain in Bellara. But, she said it would be tough financially as she would need to find hundreds of thousands of dollars to move to a new village.

A spokesman for the owner and operator declined to comment.