Sandon Point Seniors Living Development
In mid-September Anglicare held a number of drop-in sessions for neighbours of the proposed Sandon Point Seniors Living Development as well as local community members. This was an opportunity to see what is proposed to be built at the site, which borders Wilkies Street, Geraghty Street and Tramway Creek in McCauley Estate.
The development has changed from the 2019 proposal, which had 140 independent living units, an 80-bed aged care facility and 55 residential dwellings.
What is now proposed is 229 apartments for seniors living and 41 aged care rooms. There will no longer be any privately owned residential dwellings on the site. From the drawings, it seems there will be 24 separate apartment buildings. Each will have its own basement parking, lifts and security system. The apartments will be 1, 2 and 3 bedrooms. These apartment buildings will range from 2 to 4 storeys in height. It is proposed that the taller buildings will be located to the southern side of the site near Tramway Creek. There will be an aged care hub with 41 rooms. This will be dedicated to dementia and end-of-life care. (See image, at the bottom of this page.)
The development will not be gated and there will be a cycleway through the development from Wilkies Street to Geraghty Street. No cars will be allowed on the premises. Rather, residents and staff will either walk or use buggies to move from one building to the other. Cars will drive in and park underground in the individual 24 apartment buildings. Sixty car spots will also be provided for staff on site, plus space for visitors.
One burning concern for residents of McCauley Estate and the wider community is the construction of a link road to the south. This needs to happen as a matter of priority as there is only one access point into the estate, via Wrexham Road. A bridge across Tramway Creek needs to be built so Geraghty Street can be linked from Bulli to McCauley Estate. Concerns were raised about trucks travelling through the narrow roads in the estate during the construction phase. However, from discussions it appears that any link road may not be built until the apartments bordering Wilkies Street are built. There is no doubt that residents will continue to lobby for the link road to be constructed earlier rather than later.
The turpentine forest is to be cleaned up, as is Cooksons Creek. These are to be maintained by Anglicare. In addition, there will be a wide fire trail around the turpentine forest to allow fire truck access in case of a fire.
McCauley Lodge
The TVC has been informed that the development applications for Seniors Living developments for the sites of McCauley Lodge and Tasman Court in Tasman Parade, Thirroul (DA-2023/112 and DA-2023/113) are currently the subject of deemed refusal. We understand that an appeal has been lodged with NSW Land and Environment Court. The proceedings have been fixed for a combined conciliation conference on 27 February 2024. Council stated they will contact all submitters to inform them of the Court process and provide details of the conciliation conference in due course.
Offshore Renewables Zone Consult
The drop-in session at Bulli Senior Citizens Centre on Monday, September 18 was packed (apparently a few hundred people went through the doors) and the atmosphere rather emotionally charged at times. Departmental staff did their best to answer a range of questions and suggested people lodge a submission to the Government with their comments and/or concerns. It was stated that as a result of concerns raised by locals in Newcastle that the proximity and size of the offshore area proposed for Newcastle was reduced. Submissions can be made via the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water
‘Have Your Say’ web portal at https://consult.dcceew.gov.au/oei-illawarra. Consultation closes on 16 October 2023.
Next TVC Meeting
Residents are invited to the next TVC meeting on Sunday, 26 November at 4pm at TRIPS Hall, Railway Parade, Thirroul. Email the TVC at: thirroulvillagecommittee@gmail.com.
