Uproar in quiet suburb over Indigenous group home as locals fear ‘halfway house’ will bring crime and cause property value plunge

Locals opposed to a ‘group home’ in their NSW Central Coast neighbourhood are demanding answers about who will live there, as the developer suggests it might house recovering drug addicts and former prisoners.

A $1.6million application to Central Coast Council, made by Eleanor Duncan Aboriginal Health Centre through development firm ADW Johnson, plans to transform what was formerly the Lakes Anglican School site at Summerland Point on Lake Macquarie.

It proposes to transform an existing seven-bedroom building into a permanent residence and add an additional eight bedrooms using moveable dwellings. 

In application documents, the developer described the project as a ‘group home’ for both transitional and permanent residents.

It defined a group home as a dwelling that might house residents including people with a disability or social disadvantage, or those undergoing drug or alcohol rehabilitation.

It might also provide halfway accommodation for people who formerly lived in institutions, or refuges for men, women or young people. 

But Summerland Point locals, who had lodged 900 objections to the proposal on Friday, say they have no idea who will actually be living in the home. They argue it will affect the safety, amenity and house values in their lakeside town, where the median house price is about $800,000. 

Max Collins, a retired local who has lived in Summerland Point for 10 years, said it was a lack of information that residents found concerning.

‘When you read the DA it’s quite frightening,’ he said.

Mr Collins understood the development was originally intended to be a women’s shelter but said that possibility was getting ‘smaller and smaller’ as the proposal gained publicity.

‘They haven’t mentioned domestic violence refuge for women, what they have put is it can be used for drug and alcohol rehabilitation and people who were formerly in institutions.

‘This is a quiet little suburb… We’ve got a lot of older people concerned about this sort of thing in our neighbourhood, and a lot of young families. 

‘All the community wants to know is, what is going on? It’s right next to a club so you can’t have drug and alcohol (rehabilitation), surely. The council have made a real mess of this – they’ve handled it badly.’ 

Mr Collins said the developer wasn’t allowed to build on the site because it was a C3 zone – a problem it appeared to have got around with its plan to bring in moveable dwellings. 

Residents had asked Eleanor Duncan Aboriginal Health Centre for a meeting on site which it had declined, he said.

He maintained that his opposition to the group home was not rooted in racism.

‘Nothing’s been said in relation to Aboriginal. It’s just this development – nothing has been mentioned about race.’ 

Hundreds of objections to the development have been lodged on the Central Coast Council website, with the names of residents redacted.

‘I would like to highlight that Summerland Point does not have a police station, and police presence in the area is notably limited,’ one local said. 

‘This lack of law enforcement infrastructure raises serious concerns about the ability to ensure community safety and effectively respond to potential challenges arising from the establishment of a group home in our area.’

‘…Additionally, this project raises concerns about potential property devaluation,’ the local said. 

‘Residents of our community take great pride in their homes and have invested heavily in maintaining their properties, choosing to live in this area for its peaceful and welcoming environment.’ 

Daily Mail Australia has contacted ADW Johnson and Eleanor Duncan Aboriginal Health Centre for comment.