Plans submitted to build retirement community, clear bushland

It is proposed to clear hectares of vegetation, which includes koala habitat. The development is planned to include 204 units and an aged care and dementia facility with 81 beds.

Plans have been submitted to Ipswich City Council with approval being sought to build a new retirement community in Goodna.

PLANS to clear five hectares of bushland, including koala habitat, to make way for a retirement community have been submitted to Ipswich City Council for approval.

A development application has been lodged by Gold Coast-based PGS Invest Pty Ltd to build the facility on an 11.4 hectare block in Goodna.

It is planned to include 189 independent living units and an aged care and dementia facility with another 81 beds and 15 special disability accommodation units.

The development site’s frontage to Bertha Street.

The site is located at 107 Bertha Street and access to the development will be via Church Street.

“The extent of the development footprint, including the internal road network and ancillary recreational and service facilities, will equate to 4.7 hectares,” the application noted.

“In terms of the (special disability units) they will cater for residents that cannot live in an (independent living unit) or deemed to be not ready to reside in the aged care component of the development.

“These units will be located in close proximity to the aged care/dementia facility so that relevant carers can be accessed/provided as necessary.

“The intent is that the SDAs will be for independent living where a carer (other than a resident’s partner) is not specifically required to reside within the unit.”

It is proposed to construct the development over seven stages, finishing off with the aged care and dementia facility.

Planned facilities within the retirement community include a mail centre, a business centre, library, medical treatment room, hairdresser and beauty salon, restaurant, cafe, bar, barbecue area, steam room/sauna, gym, billiards/games room, aerobics/dance hall and a community bus service.

An artist impression of the proposed development.

Buildings will range from 1-4 storeys with more than 400 parking spaces - including ambulance access - to be included on-site.

A total of 5.16 hectares of vegetation will be cleared.

A shed, which was approved in 2019, is the only building currently on the development site with the Ric Nattrass Environmental Park just to the east.

A development permit was granted in 2009 for 48 residential lots to be built but that approval lapsed in 2015.

“The remaining 6.73 hectares of the site will be retained in its natural state,” the application stated.

About 96 per cent of the site is designated as koala habitat area.

“The site is not situated within a koala priority area,” it stated.

“The majority of the site is mapped as containing core koala habitat.

“In order to facilitate the development, there will be interference with the mapped habitat area.

“One threat-listed species (koala) was recorded indirectly during field surveys.

“Activity levels recorded in the (koala scat and scratch surveys) were extremely low to low, ranging from 3.3 per cent to 13.4 per cent, and there appeared no overlap of usage areas (based on ages of scats and scratches) indicating that the site was not used for its feed trees but instead, as a corridor to access higher quality habitat areas containing preferred feed tree species such as Forest Red Gums associated with the alluvial and colluvial flats associated with Woogaroo Creek and its tributaries.

A shed is the only building on the Goodna site.

“As such, the value of the site’s habitats appears to be primarily as shelter trees with occasional utilisation of feed trees such as the Grey Gums occurring within the site.

“Church Street and Bertha Street road corridors were identified as a key barrier and threat to the local koala population.”

The application noted that 8336 m2 of the site will be landscaped with koala habitat trees and 420 m2 of ‘koala habitat street tree planting’ will be undertaken as part of the development.

“The proposed development through the retention of part of the site, active maintenance of corridors and installation of traffic calming devices/reduced speeds, signage and lighting at crossing areas, in accordance with an approved koala management plan (incorporating koala sensitive design) is unlikely to alone significantly impact the local koala population,” it noted.

“It is noted that retention of site vegetation, fauna movement conduits and waterway corridors would allow for retention of potential habitat resources for other threat-listed species known to occur in the site’s locality.

“No locally significant fauna species were recorded on site.

“The proposed development requires clearing and modification of (about) 5.5 hectares of (koala habitat area).

“As such, (this) triggers state government concurrence agency assessment against State Code 25.

“The proposed development allows for retention of (about) six hectares (about 55 per cent) of the state government designated KHA mapped over the site.

“Inclusive in this is the provision of corridors.

“The proposed development does not trigger state government concurrency agency assessment in relation to regulated vegetation since the subject site is taken to be an urban area.”

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