About the project
BlueCare Sunrise Beach integrates best practice design to provide quality, responsive aged care infrastructure for Noosa’s ageing population that also respects the natural environment.
Responding to COVID-19 and the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety
BlueCare Sunrise Beach has been designed to meet future expectations of aged care provision in Australia.
Key features of the design
The design of BlueCare Sunrise Beach takes into account community demand for services that enable people to age in place, and incorporates the infection control advice of public health experts to provide a safe living environment for residents and staff in the context of COVID-19.
BlueCare Sunrise Beach aged care home is conveniently located and designed around a small house operating model. Eight and nine bed households are located around a central living area, providing improved functionality and amenity for residents whilst also offering greater access controls, sanitisation points, and designated paths of travel throughout the facility.
The co-located retirement village that is being developed on behalf of BlueCare by Keyton will include a mix of two and three-bedroom apartments and villas with access to a swimming pool, community centre and gym.
Hear from the architect
BlueCare has appointed leading architecture and interior design firm ThomsonAdsett to design the aged care component of the precinct. Hear from Principal Pino Gentile about his team’s approach to creating better care by design.
The journey to Sunrise Beach Village by BlueCare
About the site
BlueCare owns and has approval from Noosa Shire Council, the Queensland Government, and the Commonwealth Government to develop BlueCare Sunrise Beach on Lots 6 (0.87 ha) and 9 (4.61 ha) of Grasstree Court, Sunrise Beach. As part of the land purchase from former Council, BlueCare conserved surrounding habitat for local wildlife by creating Lot 1 (108 ha) which Council has retained and zoned as Environmental Management and Conservation Zone. Lot 1 adjoins the state-owned Lot 147 which is also a dedicated Environmental Management and Conservation Zone, and connects to the project’s 3-hectare rehabilitation site in Girraween Nature Refuge.
Development approvals
In addition to securing Council and State development approvals, BlueCare Sunrise Beach has been formally assessed by the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment and is not a controlled action under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act).
The project site was previously used as a sand quarry and was partially cleared in the 1990s. Aerial imagery taken in 1993 shows the outline of the aged care and retirement living lots, which were both partially cleared at the time.
Our commitments
We are investing more than $1 million to mitigate tree reduction on the project site with an extensive program of native plantings on the three hectare rehabilitation site located at the nearby Girraween Nature Refuge.
To support habitat creation for the glossy black-cockatoo population we have planted hundreds of their preferred feed trees, Allocasuarina littoralis, on our rehabilitation site.
We have also given away more than 2000 she-oak seedlings to community groups and local residents resulting in a net gain of she-oak trees in the local area.
She-oak cones were collected from the project site in November 2018, June 2019 and December 2019 and more seedlings will be offered to the community as these are planted and mature.
Planting has been done in various locations, including within and immediately adjacent to the retirement village and residential aged care centre, the project rehabilitation site, and within local parks and open spaces.
A Development Approval condition for the project, the rehabilitation site is on Noosa Shire Council-owned land approximately one kilometre from the project site. It is connected to essential habitat for a range of species including koalas.
The rehabilitation site is being rehabilitated as identified by Noosa Shire Council ecology officers. Rehabilitation for the site includes weeding, soil placement, vegetation planting and management.
We will be maintain the precinct for at least five years, after which time Noosa Shire Council will take over maintenance of the site. After five years, it is expected that the area will be established with 90-95% native vegetation cover. There will also be signs of a self-sustaining ecosystem such as self-mulching, all levels of strata are likely to be present, and new fauna will have moved into the area.
We have propagated more than 1,000 she-oak seedlings from seeds we have collected from glossy black-cockatoo feed trees on the Blue Care Sunrise Beach project site for planting in Girraween Nature Refuge.
Want to learn more?
We encourage you to read the BlueCare Sunrise Beach Ecological Management Plan (EMP). The EMP was prepared to address State and Council approval conditions for the project and include the management of vegetation and fauna during the clearing process, and importantly, detail the treatment of she-oaks at the development site (identification and collection of seed) and rehabilitation site restoration works.
Working with the local community
BlueCare continues to work with Noosa Shire Council, the traditional owners of the land and members of the local community regarding development of the Sunrise Beach aged care and retirement living precinct.
In keeping with our commitment to delivering positive social, cultural and environmental outcomes for the Noosa community, in March 2019 we sought permission from Noosa Shire Council to adapt the design of the aged care home. The change means over 20 percent of trees of significance identified in our Ecological Management Plan will be retained on the precinct site for the benefit of local birdlife.
In November 2020 we were also successful in seeking permission from Noosa Shire Council to amend our development approval so we could accede to the community’s request to stage construction of the precinct.
The staged development means a reduction in the extent of vegetation clearing at one point in time, giving the trees we are replanting at Girraween Nature Refuge more time to mature.
Clearing and construction of the residential aged care home on Lot 6 of Grasstree Court is now occurring, before clearing of Lot 9 where the adjacent retirement village is destined to go.
BlueCare also has a Cultural Heritage Management Plan in place that documents the cultural heritage management outcomes for the Project Area agreed between BlueCare and the Kabi Kabi people.
Questions and Answers
Have a question about the project? Check out our dedicated frequently asked questions and answers page or contact us.