Proposed nursing home raises serious questions
A closer review of DA30219/2006 is warranted.
The proposed multi-level nursing home facility raises serious questions.
General practitioners have agreed that there is a crisis on the Peninsula.
Granny flats, urban consolidation and high rise buildings have added to the population without there being a corresponding increase in doctors.
It has been reported that residents are unable to consult local GPs due to practice workloads.
This situation has been acknowledged by the Member for Robertson, Ms Lucy Wicks, for action.
How will this nursing home facility manage the health of its patients when the Peninsula is in the grip of a doctor crisis?
Has Central Coast Council referred this DA to local GPs and specialists for their specific opinion about whether the site is suitable for a nursing home?
Mr John Zavolokin, the then-developer, advised in 2004 that the proposed retirement village would occupy less than 31.5 per cent of the site.
I estimate this figure has doubled since 2004 based on the increased building footprint plus areas described as "bush management zone" that are too close to boundaries to maintain a healthy ecological vegetation system.
Maintenance of bush will require access for mulching, trimming, weeding, removal of organic matter and safety.
The same issues apply to a larger area which will require heavier equipment and organic removal.
All this adds to the area of vegetation loss not shown on the site plan.
Will actions on wildlife corridors and biodiversity offsetting mean the equivalent area of biodiversity loss on the site be offset?
Who will be responsible for ensuring the biodiversity offset is not used to approve another development?
The environmental health of the region, a strategic direction of immense importance, will not be retained and will, in fact, be severely degraded over time by the loss of many surviving pockets of remnant vegetation..
The Umina Coastal Sandplain Woodland that covered over most of the Peninsula is struggling to survive the pressures of development.
Conditions that existed in 2006 do not apply in 2017.
Why am I commenting on this DA many years after its expiry date?
If this DA is approved, the Premier of NSW should sack the administrator and extend this amalgamation trial an extra 12 months.
Letter, 15 May 2017
Norman Harris, Umina