Much-needed senior housing is going to be built in the town of Merimbula, 240km southeast of Canberra.
Matthew Pullinger, Acting Commissioner of the NSW Land and Environment Court, said conciliation talks between Bega Shire Council and the applicant, Sydney property developer Justice Fox, were held after the development application (DA) was refused.
The approved proposal is for an 86-unit seniors housing development with the original five-storey building with over 70 independent living units, reduced to three storeys, as well as a four-storey building with about 10 independent living units, plus extra facilities, parking and landscaping.
Concerns which led the council to reject the DA included excessive building height, bulk and scale, access to light and views, inconsistency with the existing streetscape and character, bushfire safety, environmental impacts, visual and acoustic privacy as well as traffic congestion.
In April 2023, Justice Fox took the rejection to the NSW Land and Environment Court and after a series of conciliation conferences between the parties, agreed amendments were reached with the total number of units reduced from 89 to 86.
Acting Commissioner Pullinger said he was satisfied that the amended DA satisfactorily addressed issues raised in the public submissions, adding seniors living was “an identified social need within the local area”.
