Plans for a major land lease community and hospital in Agnes Water, Central Queensland, are now before the Planning and Environment Court after Gladstone Regional Council refused to extend the project’s development approval.
The 88.19ha site, located between the coastal towns of Agnes Water and Seventeen Seventy, received preliminary approval in November 2018 for a hospital and seniors’ living precinct. But the joint developers, Sunshine State Developments Pty Ltd and Jamworth Pty Ltd, were denied a six-year extension after council officers said the applicants had failed to take “reasonable steps” to act on the approval and had not provided sufficient justification for the delay.
Senior project manager Andrew Hunter said the decision was “frustrating” and had effectively sent the project “back to square one.”
“We really wanted to see if we could get a satellite hospital off the ground, which requires support from the State Government or one of the bigger private health providers,” he told the ABC. “It just seems to be a waste of taxpayers’ money, refusing it and making us go through an appeal.”
Queensland Health confirmed that a health facility at Agnes Water is included in its capital pipeline for “further planning and investigation.”
The proposed project aimed to address growing demand for aged care and health services in the popular coastal region, where 30% of residents are aged over 60, according to the 2021 Census. The nearest hospitals are 90 minutes away in Bundaberg or Gladstone.
Two land lease communities already operate in the town – Stockwell’s Solana Lifestyle Resorts Agnes Water and Riverbend Agnes Water – reflecting rising demand from retirees relocating to the region.
