Ingenia Communities advances plan for 565-home retirement, lifestyle village on Highfields Rd at Kleinton to Toowoomba council

Hundreds of Kleinton residents could have 1000 new neighbours next door as plans for a new massive retirement village are revealed for the fast-growing suburb.

Ingenia Communities has lodged plans with the Toowoomba Regional Council for a new retirement village for up to 565 homes off Highfields Road in Highfields.

A plan for a massive retirement and lifestyle resort that could potentially house more than 1000 people has been advanced through the Toowoomba Regional Council.

National over-50s resort developer Ingenia Communities lodged a proposal late last year for a “unique, connected, liveable community” on nearly 32 hectares of land off Highfields Rd in Highfields.

Ingenia Communities has lodged plans with the Toowoomba Regional Council for a new retirement village for up to 565 homes off Highfields Road in Highfields.

The massive project, situated right next to existing residential properties, would create up to 565 housing sites ranging from 190sq m to more than 400sq m.

There are also spaces allocated on the precinct for a range of communal facilities like bowling greens, tennis courts, a cinema, yoga and art studios, community gardens, indoor and outdoor pools, a golf simulator and various entertainment spaces.

According to the planning report by Saunders Havill Group, the resort would be delivered through a “residential land lease community” model, where retirees own the home but pay a lease to the land.

“Under the land lease model, residents own their own home and pay a ground rent to lease the site on which their home is located, giving residents access to all community facilities and amenities on-site which are managed by the operator,” the report said.

“Compared to other ownership models for seniors and retirees, the land lease model has a number of key advantages for residents (ncluding) a more affordable upfront price point for the home.”

The land, which is owned by developer Clive Berghofer, sits right next to dozens of existing homes in Highfields and Kleinton, with buffers and “density transition” proposed to mitigate impacts on surrounding residents.

Ingenia Communities has lodged plans with the Toowoomba Regional Council for a new retirement village for up to 565 homes off Highfields Road in Highfields. Concept art of community facilities by Aqus Designs.

“Council requested that particular attention be given to how the density of the proposed development will provide a transition in density from surrounding low density development to the higher density proposed as part of the application,” the report said.

“In designing the proposed facility, a ‘park living precinct’ was created along the interface of the subject site with existing established residential areas.

“This precinct provides for the establishment of larger house sites resulting in a built form that is sympathetic to the built form found in the surrounding neighbourhood, and provides an appropriate transition in scale and density to the surrounding, established residential area. “Furthermore, a 7m wide landscaped buffer and an overall 10m wide open space area will be provided along the full length of the eastern and northern boundaries of the site.”

Ingenia Communities has lodged plans with the Toowoomba Regional Council for a new retirement village for up to 565 homes off Highfields Road in Highfields.

Reports were also lodged relating to housing designs, landscaping, engineering, traffic and other impacts.

Because the application is code-assessable, no public notification period is required by the developer.

Highfields and Kleinton have become a focus of the aged care and retirement sectors in recent years, with GemLife and Carinity Brownesholme both located near the proposed side.