Over-55s Villages Proposed for WA Wine Regions
Two lifestyle villages are on the drawing board for renowned wine regions in the south of Western Australia.
In WA’s oldest wine region, the Swan Valley—where vines were first planted in 1829, the same year the WA capital was founded—Perth-based Fairway Villages has applied to subdivide a 44,645sq m site into a 105-lot over-55s lifestyle village.
The site, at the corner of the Great Northern Highway and Argyle Street at Herne Hill, is a former farm that abuts an estate of detached houses.
Fairway Villages chief executive Peter Burke predicted that if the project went ahead, it would be oversubscribed.
“As we know, elderly people love their wine and they love security and they need to downsize too,” he said.
He said the Swan Valley was “crying out for activity”.
“There’s probably only 80 functioning vineyards at the minute and only 20 of those would be in the export space,” he said.
“If you compare where the Swan Valley is now to even 30 years ago, they had 75 per cent of the wine or grapes or table grapes produced in Western Australia then; they’re now down to 3 per cent.”
Burke said a feature of the project would be the planting of “five or six” rows of grape vines on the setbacks along the Great Northern Highway and Argyle Street.
“They’ll be looked at and serviced as a little hobby by the villagers,” he said.
If approved by the WA Planning Commission, the project would include a community centre on a 2420sq m parcel of the development site, parking area for 34 RVs or caravans, bowling green, golf simulator and a 20m lap pool.
Fairway has operated for 10 years and the Herne Hill project, 20km north-east of the Perth CBD, would be its fourth village.
Once complete, the village would be managed by Fairway. Public comment on the project is open until March 23.
Meanwhile, in the country town of Capel, 212km south of Perth, Ocean Gardens Pty Ltd is planning a $30-million overhaul of a historic 3.9ha property into an over-55s lifestyle village, short-stay accommodation and serviced apartments.
The project [pictured at top] has been designed by Perth-based Doepel Marsh Architects and Planners. It would include 55 grouped homes in the lifestyle village, 36 short-stay serviced apartments and a shop with eight residential units above.
The short-stay accommodation would be operated by managers of the Capel Tavern, which was built on the site in 1880 and is locally heritage listed, but not part of the development proposal.
Overlooking the Capel River—which winds through the Geographe wine region known for its cabernet sauvignons, shirazes, semillons and chardonnays—the project would include a historic stable repurposed as a community building.
One of Ocean Gardens’ three directors is commercial property flipper Julie Wyatt, who was contacted for comment. On social media this month, Wyatt said a 12-month settlement on the company’s purchase of the property had given the project “breathing room”.
“Lining up a new tavern operator early meant income could restart while the longer-term vision progressed,” she said.
To be decided at a meeting of WA’s Regional Development Assessment Panel on March 5, the project has been endorsed for approval by the Shire of Capel.
The application was advertised for 35 days. Of 25 public submissions received, 23 were supportive.
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