2021-02-25 Special Meeting Agenda

SPECIAL MEETING AGENDA                                                         25 FEBRUARY 2021

b)    New clubhouse facilities – Construction and fitout of a new golf clubhouse with a dedicated
      pro shop, restaurant, café, function room, outdoor deck and terrace area. This clubhouse
      has been designed to accommodate weddings and functions so that the club will have the
      ability to generate supplementary income from such events (in addition to golf course
      activities).
c)    New and safer access – Safer vehicle access to the golf course and clubhouse via a new
      private road and associated access rights. This is a significant improvement upon the existing
      access and car park from Myall Street.
d)    New and larger car park – A new car park with 97 dedicated car spaces to cater for patrons
      of the golf course and clubhouse (significantly more than the current car park capacity).
e)    New golf buggy storage facilities – A new golf buggy storage shed with space for the
      permanent storage of 40 carts.
f)    Modifications to golf course – Reconfiguring the golf course to maintain 18 holes whilst
      accommodating a newly re-located club house, car park and associated access.
Promoting synergy between the golf course and GemLife retirement resort – GemLife are
committed to promoting a genuine synergy between the Golf Club and the retirement resort. The
benefits of co-locating retirement living with other land uses is well documented as being a positive
impetus for social interaction and inclusion. The GemLife community will result in a population of
around 500 people on the doorstep of the golf club, many of whom will take advantage of their
included membership by taking up the sport or taking advantage of the dining / leisure opportunities
available in the clubhouse. GemLife is optimistic that this development will re-enliven the club’s
membership base and result in improved social opportunities for both Golf Club members and
GemLife Residents.
Responds to the need for age specific housing – The need to provide housing for an ageing
population within the shire is well documented; in particular, by the Housing Needs Assessment
prepared by Briggs and Mortar for Noosa Council in 2017. This report identified a need for
additional retirement dwellings (particularly smaller and more affordable dwellings) to be provided
within the shire to meet the needs of an ageing population. The proposed development stands to
provide a direct response to this housing need by delivering 246 retirement living (resort style)
dwellings with access to complementary whole of life ‘ageing in place’ services to cater for
residents of Cooroy and the surrounding area.
It is noted that land opposite the site at 125 Myall Street, Cooroy (Lot 4 SP248479) is proposed to
be zoned ‘Community Facilities’ for a Residential Care Facility under the new Draft Scheme. We
consider the proposed re-zoning of 125 Myall Street to an urban zoning is a sensible planning
decision as it represents a logical continuation of urban development existing further to the north.
However, we consider that designation of the whole site for aged care purposes does not make
practical sense as an aged care facility only requires around 6000-8000sqm of land area whereas
the site is 6.665 hectares in size and a large balance area would be left over with no certain land
use outcomes.
The proposed GemLife site is considered more appropriate to deliver the retirement / ageing in
place services intended by the housing needs assessment due to the co-location benefits
stemming its co-location next to the complementary land use activity (i.e. the golf course) and 125
Myall Street, would be more appropriately located in a conventional urban zoning.
Ageing in place services offered – The proposed development will deliver an ageing in place
solution by virtue of GemLife’s partnership with Prescare who are a not for profit provider of aged
care support services. Residents of the Cooroy GemLife community will have access to the
services offered by Prescare which include: in home care, in home nursing, assisted shopping,
transport to appointments and social events, rehabilitation and physical therapy, respite care,
dementia services, pastoral and spiritual care, food and meal services, mobility equipment. This
partnership between Prescare and GemLife is significant as it provides an ageing in place solution
that will allow residents to be accommodated in their homes within the GemLife community for a
much longer time before the possibility of having to transition into high care. Therefore, whilst the

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