New Beerwah development

A large aged care and retirement living facility is proposed for the eastern side of the railway in Beerwah in response to identified high levels of need for additional aged care beds in the region.

The 25 independent living units and 93-bed high-care residential facility is to be located on two adjoining blocks bounded by Beerwah Parade, Phipps Street and Free Street.

The more than 4,000m 2 site currently has two residential dwellings but is zoned for high density residential living.

A material change of use application was submitted on behalf of a newly created company Pesdev No 5 Pty Ltd to Sunshine Coast Council last week, with an application to reconfigure the boundaries of the two lots and an application for an operational works permit.

Pesdev Group is a privately-owned Brisbane-based property development company with a history of residential and aged care developments.

According to the submitted planning reports, the proposal is for two four-storey buildings – one housing the independent retirement living units and the other the 93-bed care facility. Parking will be provided in a basement level.

The independent retirement living building is to be located on the Beerwah Parade end and includes plans for a 100m 2 retail “corner store” space.

The larger aged-care building will take up the back two-thirds of the site, with the vehicle access off Free Street.

The proposal fits within the current land zoning (high density residential) and so is deemed to be code assessable, meaning that no advertising or public submission process is required.

Although the adjoining commercial property has a mixture of commercial and manufacturing, the planning report suggests that there will be no noise or visual implications. The planning report also suggests that the resulting increased traffic flow will be minimal and within the road network capacity. Although the proposal is broadly within the planning scheme guidelines, the details show that the plans don’t meet the setback requirements from the Free Street frontage. The site is also more densely built than allowable (49% coverage compared to the allowed 40% coverage).

Despite the site being well located for access to public transport, being opposite the Beerwah train station and bus interchange, the connection to the commercial and retail centre of Beerwah is challenging due to the separation caused by the railway corridor. T

he find out more about the development proposal, go to https://developmenti.sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au and search for MCU20/0194.