The New Zealand-based operator’s bid to build an aged care home and independent living apartments on the site of the Moondah mansion in Mt Eliza, a seaside suburb 40km northeast of Melbourne’s CBD, has returned to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT).
Mornington Peninsula Shire Council was unable to decide on an amended application within the 60-day statutory timeframe.
Ryman Healthcare’s original proposal for the site on the former Reg Ansett-owned land was rejected by VCAT last July, but just weeks later the operator submitted amended plans.
The original application comprised six four-storey buildings; two four-storey wings attached to the existing mansion; three three-storey buildings housing 272 apartments, including 55 assisted living units and 217 independent living units; and 124 aged care beds.
The new application has reduced the number of assisted living units and apartments.
Ryman Healthcare’s Victorian development manager David Laing told The Mornington Peninsula News said it had cooperated fully with Council since lodging the permit last year “so we’re not sure what caused the hold-up”.
He added Ryman had followed VCAT’s “clear guidance” on how the plans could be modified to get the level of density right, and he believed the scaled-back proposal responded “directly to that feedback”.
