Why developer could face $200k bill as council officers recommend Kingston aged care home for approval
A retirement village in Kingston is on track for approval – but it will come at a steep environmental cost and the developer could be hit with a huge bill to offset the damage.
A new aged care home is set to be given the green light for Kingston but the developer could be ordered to pay the Kingborough Council more than $200,000 to offset significant environmental impacts, including the removal of 198 native trees.
Christian Homes Tasmania is proposing to build a retirement village at Lot 555 Alfreds Garden and 67 Village Drive.
It would comprise 44 independent living units, arranged as 22 duplexes and a communal building.
Four public representations objected to the development, while one was a statement of support.
Local concerns included an associated increase in traffic, impacts on neighbourhood safety and amenity, and the loss of swift parrot habitat.
The supporting statement, on the other hand, noted the community benefit of establishing new aged care accommodation in the municipality.
The development would require the removal of 198 native trees, including four very high conservation value trees and 16 high conservation value trees that provide potential foraging and nesting habitat for the critically endangered swift parrot.
Kingborough Council officers have recommended the project for approval but acknowledged some of the proposal’s adverse impacts and suggested that extensive conditions be placed on any planning permit that elected members may choose to endorse.
The site contains native vegetation communities such as 0.55ha of eucalyptus ovata forest and woodland and 4.07ha of eucalyptus amygdalina forest and woodland on sandstone, both of which are threatened communities.
“As the scale of impact is just under 50 per cent of the total area of the [environmental] values on the site and adjacent land, it is difficult to maintain that this loss is insignificant,” the council officers’ report said.
The officers have recommended that Christian Homes Tasmania be required to pay $201,536.35 to the council’s environmental fund to offset the loss of threatened native vegetation communities and high conservation value trees.
The developer may also be asked to protect a minimum of 1.495ha of secure conservation land at the southern end of 67 Village Drive and create an easement providing a public pedestrian access link from Eliza Drive through the site to existing public open space managed by the council.
The officers’ report also stressed that the development and its ongoing use must strictly comply with the Tasmania Fire Service-endorsed Emergency Management Strategy and the certified Bushfire Hazard Management Plan.
“The proposed retirement village is located such that it appropriately provides for [the] ageing population within Kingston, enabling residents to have easy access to relevant services,” the report said.
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