Summerland Point and Gwandalan residents say that a lack of transparency and community consultation has fuelled their nervousness about a development application for a group home in their suburb.
The 2.6ha property on the main road leading into Summerland Point was sold to Yerin Aboriginal Health Services for $3.9M in 2023.
Residents say their attempts to learn exactly who will be living at the proposed group home have been fruitless.
They claim essential details referred to in the development application (DA) are being hidden from the public, that the owners have found a way to circumvent C3 zoning laws that prevent multiple dwellings, and that this is stage one of the development, with future expansion of the home being kept under wraps.
A committee formed to oppose the DA says that they are unable to come to an understanding about the purpose of the group home because the DA’s State of Environmental Effects (SEE) lacks crucial big picture information.
More worrying, they say, is a small detail that leaves the community guessing and fearing the worst.
DA/440/2025 is for a group home for both permanent and transitional residents.
Yerin/Eleanor Duncan Aboriginal Services intends to repurpose an existing seven-bedroom structure on the property, and add capacity for a further eight rooms, by way of six moveable dwellings, four of which will contain one bedroom and two that will include two bedrooms.
An existing four-bedroom structure will be used for ancillary purposes, such as offices and consulting rooms for allied health services.
The NSW Standard Instrument—Principal Local Environmental Plan, updated 2023, outlines that C3 zoning permits home occupation in the shape of a single, permanent dwelling without consent.
However, what is not permitted, for example, is multi-dwelling housing, such as group homes and seniors housing.
Resident committee member Max Collins says the planning documents in the DA show there’s “a workaround for C3 zoning laws”.
“The developers met with Council before the sale of the property on January 19, 2023, to discuss using the site as a transitional group home, using the existing structures,” he said.
“A second pre-DA meeting was held in February this year, so this has been a long time in the making with zero engagement with the people who live here.
“They are getting around zoning laws by wheeling movable buildings onto the site.
“Although the DA is up front about the six moveable buildings that are going in, we have no idea how many could be added to the property in the future.
“If the report into how many trees they plan to chop down in the north-eastern corner is correct, there will be space for many, many more.”
Other than zoning issues, residents say that the DA offers few specifics about who the intended occupants will be.
The DA states that a group home is defined as a “dwelling that can house people with a disability, those who are socially disadvantaged, those in need of drug and/or alcohol rehabilitation, as well as providing temporary half-way accommodation for men, women or young people who have formerly lived in institutions”.
For clarity, the Australian Bureau of Statistics lists institutions as: psychiatric hospitals, hostels, night shelters, refuges, childcare institutions, corrective institutions for children, and corrective or detention institutions for adults.
Another local, Richard Miller, said that he thought there was a lot of public anger because of the uncertainty.
“They should have been more transparent from the outset and spent time meeting with residents, so the community was made aware of who the occupants will be,” he said.
“We still don’t know who they will be, and this is making people, particularly the elderly and young families who moved here for the quiet, bush-type setting, feel very vulnerable.”
All appendices in the SEE which are designed to offer greater detail on the intended occupants, and the purpose of the home, as well as a social impact plan, have been redacted, as too has the masterplan and architectural plan.
Antonia Stuart, who works in development advisory services at Central Coast Council explained that the DA had been identified as ‘sensitive use’ and in view of that Council had “withheld and or redacted sensitive information”.
Some residents are in favour of the development, if it serves as a shelter for women seeking accommodation.
Kylie Dawson, who moved to the area nearly four years ago with her teenage children, said she was “all for this project”.
“If it is about housing those in need, then absolutely,” she said.
“This is a big-hearted community, and they will be welcomed, however, nothing should be hidden from us.”
The local Facebook group is awash with residents who say that if the ‘pro’ camp had read the DA properly, and knew that Eleanor Duncan Aboriginal Services had failed to engage the community, despite requests for it to do so, they would be concerned, too.
Julie Klus has been a resident of Summerland Point for 35 years.
Like several others, he pointed to the suburb’s distance from emergency services and how its remoteness means that police and ambulances are “extremely slow” to respond to calls.
“I am concerned that the residents of this (proposed group) home will require more frequent police assistance, and because of potential events at the home, existing residents may also need more police assistance,” he said.
“This is where I get worried that response times will be completely inadequate.
“This is based on what we are experiencing here right now.
“If this is a DV shelter, and it attracts people with bad intentions, are we going to wait hours for that situation to be dealt with?”
Safety concerns have been amplified by a line in the DA that says the property requires secure fencing and will be fitted with duress alarms.
One resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said this made them extremely nervous to the point they would consider moving away.
“Can we find out why it is that residents in this home would need duress alarms?” they asked.
The DA was accompanied by a summary of a CPTED plan – an architectural design to reduce crime and the perception of crime (the full version was also redacted).
It aims to deter offenders and create safer environments.
In that, Summerland Point is described as a “suitable context and setting for the proposal”.
It describes the main commercial area of the suburb as being within walking distance of the group home and lists the following retailers: “Foodworks, a bakery/café, a takeaway shop, and a service station”.
It neglects to mention Summerland Cellars, the bottle shop.
Most startling is the omission of any mention of the licensed ‘Sporties’ Sporting Club, which is located just one block of land over from the proposed group home, with just 300m separating their respective entryways.
Chris Edmonds, who lives at Summerland Point with her children and grandchildren, said if this group home was meant for people recovering from gambling and alcohol addictions, then surely it wouldn’t be the best location.
“The DA says that this home is in the public interest of occupants and the wider community,” she said.
“If that is correct, perhaps Eleanor Duncan Aboriginal Services can come and explain this to us because, on paper, it looks to be the opposite.”
Residents asked for the deadline for submissions to be extended, having been given 21 days to reply, and the request was refused.
The deadline to make a submission is June 6.
To find out more information, and get assistance with making a submission, visit www.stopthisdevelopment.com.au
Nicola Riches
I think council just need to be upfront on what they are placing in our community; what the eventual scope is; what they plan to do re infrastructure; what their plan/communication is with police; what bushfire strategy they have, and most of all let us see all the impact studies. There are all but no services here and less public transport. In all honesty I do not think council remember there is a north end of the coast except to dump problems here.
why can’t this half way house be in the proposed estate out on the highway.