Sunshine Coast residents hire defence lawyer Peter Boyce to fight proposed Highworth village
Highworth residents have hired a prominent Coast lawyer in a bid to fight a proposed multimillion dollar retirement village.
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Highworth residents have hired a prominent Coast lawyer in a bid to fight a proposed multimillion dollar retirement village.
Butler McDermott boss Peter Boyce has been retained by several of the residents of Savilles Road after they found out about the extent of a proposed 275-home retirement village.
It comes after more than 50 residents recently met with Sunshine Coast councillor David Law in a bid to have their say on the $70 million development application.
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Mr Boyce's work has been widely recognised, particularly his efforts for the Morcombe family as they pursued justice for their son.
Mr Boyce has also been awarded an Order of Australia Medal and the Civil Justice Award from the Australian Lawyers Alliance.
He declined to comment when asked about the Highworth development.
Highgate Developments, directed by Andrew and Jo Pitcher, lodged an application with the council in November last year for a 275-home retirement village named Grove Retirement.
The village will feature two and three bedroom homes and community facilities including function rooms, pools, tennis courts, a bowls green, cinema, gym, offices, a Men's Shed, a small golf centre and RV and caravan parking.
Long-time Savilles Road resident Lesley Cupitt said her concerns with the proposed development forced her to consider legal action.
"We're challenging the water, the stormwater issues," she said.
"If he (the developer) is going to eject stormwater through my property and through my neighbour's property … he's not supposed to do that.
"It affects me and downstream properties as well."
Ms Cupitt said there were significant biosecurity concerns as well.
"You have the RV car park right next to the stream (according to the plans)," Ms Cupitt said
She was worried about potential run off from people washing their vehicles.
Ms Cupitt said Mr Pitcher contacted her via email on March 9 to explain he had spoken to neighbour, Peter Bradford.
In the email, Mr Pitcher said his team was making a few changes to the layout in consultation with the council.
"While there is no requirement to, an area I have decided myself to change is along your boundary," he wrote.
"I took the two-storey dwellings there out of the plan and rejigged the RV parking area.
"This will leave a good buffer with your property and means we should be able to retain most of the vegetation in that area."
Ms Cupitt said while she did appreciate the email proposal she still held grave concerns for the vegetation.
She has asked Mr Pitcher to retain as much vegetation on the property as possible.
Ms Cupitt said several residents would consider leaving should the development go ahead.
"I'm seriously looking at Victoria," she said.
The proposal is code-assessable, meaning it does not have to go through public consultation as it complies with local planning provisions.
Attempts to contact Mr Pitcher for comment were unsuccessful.
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Originally published as Sunshine Coast residents hire defence lawyer Peter Boyce to fight proposed Highworth village
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