Pendle Hill Retirement Village redevelopment at Dunmore St progresses
A western Sydney retirement village will transform into a “flagship” aged care home with almost 900 dwellings next to the former Bonds site.
Parramatta
Don't miss out on the headlines from Parramatta . Followed categories will be added to My News.
Pendle Hill Retirement Village will transform into a “flagship” aged care home with almost 900 dwellings next to the former Bonds site, where another redevelopment will see the suburb’s population explode.
Fresh Hope Care has lodged a planning proposal for 890 homes at its site on the corner of Dunmore St and Pendle Way, where 650 independent living and “affordable units” for key workers will be built alongside a 240-dwelling aged care section.
The buildings will rise up to eight storeys and replace 86 units over six single-storey buildings on the site. It will also dwarf the local heritage-listed Ashwood House and Dunmore House, which will be retained.
The project is forecast to generate 320 aged care and retirement living jobs and include eateries and a medical centre.
The Cumberland Local Planning Panel has supported the application to progress to the Planning Department, which will have the final say on the proposal.
At a recent panel meeting, Pendle Hill resident Bruce Simpson called for part of the 7.3 hectare site to be rezoned from private to public recreation space, saying “Pendle Hill is desperately short of a large public open spaces”.
He said Dunmore House was “arguably the most significant European heritage item in the area and is a key part of defining what is and what became of Pendle Hill”.
Dunmore House was built in 1936 and used as a boys’ home until the early 1980s while Ashwood House was built in 1938 for aged care.
A council report said there was a demand for 4320 aged care beds and 2110 retirement living dwellings in the Cumberland area by 2036.
Fresh Hope Care group operations director Daniel Dwyer said the redevelopment would provide leading dementia and mental health care to the community.
“This is a key investment for our organisation,’’ Mr Dwyer.
“It will be our largest investment in our history and it will be our flagship site and project.’’
The panel gave the project the green light but made recommendations to the council before it is endorsed or rejected for the Planning Department, including allocating more public recreation, using Dunmore House as a community centre and for buildings to range from four to eight storeys.
The panel noted that buildings should not eclipse 32m, which was “in excess of what is required for an eight-storey building’’.
The village is next to the former Bonds spinning mills site, where 1200 units are earmarked.
The project will include a 5500sq m public park and full-line supermarket.
Pendle Hill is part of Cumberland Council’s fastest growing ward, which is forecast to grow 54 per cent in the next 20 years with an extra 20,000 residents.