THE Harrington community has always recognised that it could take five or six years from lodgement of a development application to the time the doors would open and an aged care facility could welcome its first residents.
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The memorandum of understanding acknowledged this fact, given that the Roche Group would need to partner with an aged care provider to ensure delivery of a facility, whether it be a (preferred) hostel/nursing home, or (less favoured) self-care villas.
The continuing delays are extremely disappointing to those existing and new residents who would have chosen to spend their senior years in their town of choice, Harrington Community Action Group secretary, Joan Hall said.
Provision of aged care facilities in the Harrington area has already been on the public agenda for at least 10 years, since the early days of the Harrington Waters development.
Failure by the Roche Group to undertake a seniors facility has been at the heart of a high level of community concern as the remainder of the residential, business and leisure development went ahead.
The memorandum (MOU) was Greater Taree City Council’s way of bringing an aged care facility to fruition, replacing special condition 7 of the original contract of sale for land at 823 Harrington Road, Harrington, between council and the Roche Group.
Special condition 7 had originally set a time limit of March 6 last year for a ‘seniors housing development’ to be completed on the land, which sits between Harrington Road, the properties along Industrial Road and part of Harrington Waters golf course, generally west of Harrington Waters shopping village.
As the March 2011 deadline for completion approached, and with no development evident, council in October 2010 decided to seek legal advice.
The outcome was the recognition that the development had not begun and that council could extend the special condition by way of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).
All costs of council drawing up the MOU were borne by the Roche Group. Both parties signed it on June 24 last year.
A key issue during deliberation was interpretation of the ‘aged housing facility’ terminology referred to in the original land sale contract, with residents expressing fears that the Roche Group originally planned a series of individually titled self care villas for sale to retirees.
This level of accommodation is already well serviced in Harrington, community groups argued, as they pressed for provision of assisted care accommodation for seniors, including villas, assisted care and nursing home care, similar to that available in Taree, Cundletown, Wingham and Old Bar.
Part of the preparation of the MOU involved an analysis of Harrington by council staff and the Roche Group, which determined that due to its flat topography and hence ease of mobility and access to services, Harrington could be considered as already providing land and/or houses suitable for people in the early stages of retirement.
The shortfall in the market therefore related to assisted care and nursing care.
Representatives of more than 15 community groups and organisations from the Harrington area have continued to meet every three months to follow the progress of plans for an aged care facility.
These have included the Community Health Centre, Salvation Army, CWA, Anglican Church, Harrington Ladies RSL, VIEW and Probus clubs, the Catholic Church, RSL sub-branch, Senior Citizens, the Memorial Hall, Chamber of Commerce, Lions, and a representative of the previous aged care committee which operated in Harrington in the early 1990s.
