Belrose, Forest Way: New plans for $32m nursing home with dementia care ward revealed
Modified plans for a long-awaited, upmarket aged care facility on the northern beaches — featuring a special dementia wing with its own garden — have been revealed.
Manly
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Modified plans for an upmarket, 99-bed aged care facility on the northern beaches have been released for public comment, more than seven years after the complex was first proposed.
Regis Aged Care is proposing $306,000 modifications to previously approved plans, including alterations to floor plans and “design refinements” to a dementia garden and ground floor courtyard.
These changes will lead to a reduction in the number of bedrooms, bring the approved number of 103 down to 97, and reduce the number of beds from 105 to 99.
Four approved visitor parking spaces would also be removed.
The Land and Environment Court granted approval for development of the $32.5m Belrose Manor facility, featuring a 25-bed dementia wing and ocean views, in October 2020.
The approval followed a lengthy saga, with an initial development application, which proposed to demolish a six-bedroom house at 181 Forest Way and replace it with the four-level facility, withdrawn in 2017.
The following year, the state government’s Sydney North Planning Panel rejected a subsequent application on the grounds of overdevelopment and height concerns.
Local homeowners were also worried about the loss of 45 trees from the property. as well as increased noise, privacy issues, lighting and increased traffic.
However, the developer ultimately won a court battle to gain approval for the facility.
In his written judgment, Commissioner Timothy Horton granted an exemption to building height and setbacks, stating he was “satisfied that the development standards are complied with”.
The commissioner also ruled it would “not disrupt the skyline when viewed from Narrabeen Lagoon or the Wakehurst Parkway”.
“On this basis, I am satisfied that the proposed development is consistent with the desired future character of the locality,” he wrote.
Regis, a leading aged care provider listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, bought the land, with the development application approved, in September 2021, for $14.15m.
It has permission to develop the 100-room facility along with a dementia ward and associated gardens, cafe, hair salon, dining areas, private dining room and lounge areas, outdoor terrace areas, commercial kitchen and laundry.
There will be a two-level underground car park.
The exhibition period relating to the proposed amendments ends on November 28.
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