Cooroy Care Farm Town Planning Report - 4 - Report (003)

REPORT


1           INTRODUCTION
RPS has been engaged by Lutheran Services to seek development approval to establish the ‘Cooroy Care
Farm’ which comprises a residential care facility (dementia house, and respite / palliative care), chapel and
community hall on land at Rose Gum Road, Cooroy. The subject site is more properly described as Lots 1
and 2 on RP862537 and Lot 3 on SP235191, and has an area of 24.152ha.
This development application formally seeks:
     •    Development Permit for a Material Change of Use for Multiple Housing Type 3 – Retirement and
          special needs, Wellbeing Type 3 – Worship, and Wellbeing Type 2 – Social.
The proposal involves:
     •    An innovative style of aged care tailored specifically to the accommodation of dementia residents by
          embracing rural elements of living; and
     •    A community hall and chapel available for use by both residents and the general public.
The proposal is a dementia care residence with the intention of implementing an alternative dementia-care
model that is supported by the findings of modern dementia research. Recent studies have found that a
focus on enabling dementia residents to lead a normal everyday life in a familiar ‘home’ environment with a
qualified support and care team has various mental health benefits for people living with dementia. Hence
the proposal includes ‘dementia houses’ with a chapel and community hall (to be publicly accessible) on the
subject site. An aviary, kitchen and flower gardens, animal yards, horse stable, chicken pen, some cattle and
a fire pit are also provided for the residents’ enjoyment and to maintain the ‘rural’ character of the site.
The land is located in the Regional Landscape and Rural Production Area (RLRPA) of the South East
Queensland Regional Plan 2017(SEQRP) and therefore must comply with a Gross Floor Area cap of
5,000m², to ensure the proposal is not prohibited development under the Planning Regulation 2017 (the
Regulation). The proposal is, however, assessable development under the Regulation, and will require
referral to the Department of State Development, Manufacturing, Infrastructure and Planning (DSDMIP). A
prelodgement meeting with DSDMIP was arranged for the purposes of discussing the suitability of the
proposal in terms of the SEQRP. The key outcomes of this meeting are detailed further in the report.
Under the Noosa Plan 2006 (the planning scheme), the subject site has dual zoning of ‘Rural’ and ‘Rural
Settlement’. The subject site is also within the Cooroy and Lake Macdonald locality of the planning scheme.
The proposal is subject to Impact assessment.
It is considered that because of the benefit a facility of this nature could provide to dementia-affected aged
persons, combined with a significant gap in supply of aged care facilities with rural living elements, the
proposal is an appropriate use of the land. Further, the proposal is located within close proximity to services
with the Cooroy town centre less than six kilometres from the site.
The proposal is considered to largely comply with the planning scheme as the rural setting is a core
component of the proposal as the innovative style of aged care depends on it to succeed. Therefore, the
proposal seeks to embrace the elements of rural living and does not propose to transform the site into an
‘urban village’ or anything else that is not fitting with the locality or the zoning.
From a planning perspective, the site is well-connected for land in a rural setting as it is proximate to the
Bruce Highway. Furthermore, the design of the facility is responsive to the site’s constraints and hazards, as
well as the rural setting of the locality.
This report provides greater detail on the nature of the proposal and provides an assessment of the proposal
against the intents and code requirements of relevant statutory planning documents. Technical issues
associated with the proposal are addressed in appended technical reports. Based on these assessments
the proposal is recommended for approval subject to reasonable and relevant conditions.




PR139784 | Town Planning Report | v4 | 28 June 2019
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