Bermagui Matters member Hal Judge has come out against the development, quoting the program headline words that LLCs are a ‘financial prison’.
The project is at the development application stage. It is located 2km south of the town of Bermagui, 389km south of Sydney.
Hal says: “The ABC’s investigative 7.30 report on 15 July found that many ‘lifestyle communities’ promise retirees affordable, resort-style living but some residents say they’re a ‘financial prison’ with a multitude of management fees and problems exiting and reselling.”
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The project would need to remove 13.4 hectares of native vegetation if the proposed over 60s LLC by Metacap Group Holdings, which owns the land lease communities brand Riverbend Resorts, is approved.
Metacap wants to build a 162-home community over six stages, with house sizes from 159sqm to 201sqm in size, at an estimated cost of $26.48 million.
The development application was lodged with Bega Valley Shire Council in November 2023 and is still being assessed.
The Bermagui Matters group was formed in February 2024. Almost 1500 people have opposed the development.
The objections are many:
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high fire risk;
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loss of biodiversity and habitat of several threatened and vulnerable species;
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traffic congestion;
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Influx of elderly residents would put local services, particularly medical care, emergency services, utilities, sewerage and the water supply from the Brogo River, under serious strain;
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create a heat island effect given the lack of tree shade, reduced green surface and poor solar orientation, and
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Homogenous gated housing precinct isolates and marginalises the elderly.
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