Aged care complex approved near Bathurst CBD

The development application (DA) for the $26.5 million complex was lodged by Opal Aged Care which already has an existing aged care facility on Boyd Street in Kelso.

Located close to the central business district, the extensive property runs along Stanley Street, between Hope and Peel streets, and will overlook the Macquarie River.

DA plans of the facility show it will run alongside and behind the existing Milestones Early Learning Centre.

The property will be set back off the road with a 46-bay carpark, main driveway and landscape works to front Stanley Street.

Plans of the two-storey building show it will have four wings which feature the bedrooms, as well as a main foyer area with a reception, salon, cafe, dining area, lounge, laundry, kitchen and terrace.

“The exterior design is a modern interpretation of the heritage buildings found in the Bathurst area,” the DA said.

Extensive landscaping will include deciduous trees, boundary hedge plantings, mixed native shrubs, raised planters, grassed areas, timber decks and a pergola.

“[It] will deliver a high quality residential aged care facility which will fulfill an important social purpose and assist in satisfying an increasing need in the local area for high care facilities,” the Statement of Environmental Effects for the DA said.

“[It] will provide an excellent living environment for seniors requiring high care and improve the viability and economic efficiency of local services for the aged in the locality.

“All common/communal spaces inside the building are located within central nodes of the wings.

“As a result, the communal areas which house the lounge, dining and sitting areas also become important circulation spaces to the four residential wings, promoting strong socialisation for the residents.”

The DA said the facility was a sympathetic response to an effectively greenfield site.