Knocked back in 2009 Hooka Creek Road seniors housing plan makes a return

Part of a suite of documents include a plan "to render the site suitable, from a contamination perspective".

Read more: Wollongong visitors 'take your rubbish with you'

Vivacity Property hopes to build the "lifestyle resort" for over-55s that would include 78 home sites, two caravan sites, a clubhouse and fitness centre with a pool, on Hooka Creek Road, Berkeley, on land immediately south of the Macedonia Park football field.

The homes would be owned and occupied by residents, who would lease the underlying land from the developer.

It is much smaller than a 158-home village proposed for the site in 2009.

Following concerns from nearby residents, the Wollongong Local Planning Panel refused that development for a range of reasons including soil contaminated with blast furnace slag and unauthorised building rubble.

Concerns were also raised about the noise impacts on village residents during football matches and the traffic impacts on those living nearby.

A remediation plan has been lodged as part of the new application which stated slag up to two metres deep was found in test sites.

The plan recommends the manganese-contaminated areas be capped with a geofabric layer and then covered with at least 300 millimetres of clean fill.

"Ideally, excavation works should not be conducted through the geofabric layer following its placement," the plan stated.

The building materials - which may or may not contain asbestos - would need to be removed from the site.

"It is considered that following implementation of the remediation strategies documented herein, the site can be rendered suitable for the proposed residential development," the action plan stated.

The development would also see a reconfiguration of the football field car park, boosting spaces from 170 to 250.

The separate car park for the seniors facility would include 80 spaces for residents parking and 15 for visitors.

There would be separate entry points off Hooka Creek Road for the football fields and the seniors development.

A traffic study stated the increase of spaces for football patrons would reduce the need for on-street parking.

The study claimed the seniors housing would generate around 32 extra vehicle movements in the morning and evening peaks.

"The net increase of one vehicle per two minutes is considered within the daily variation of the traffic flow, and would be imperceptible in any traffic modelling programs," the study stated.

The development application is on public exhibition until November 2.

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