A DUBBO City Council decision to seek ministerial consent to sell vacant Crown land has pleased the champions of a patient accommodation project in urgent need of a construction site.
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For six years determined volunteers have forged ahead with the plan to build in stages Macquarie Homestay, a facility that would offer affordable and short-term accommodation to Orana region residents needing treatment at Dubbo Hospital.
In August 2014, they were ecstatic when awarded a $3.3 million grant from the state government’s Restart NSW Cobbora Transition Fund.
But hopes of “turning soil” on the project that year were dashed as the process of acquiring about 3.5 hectares of land on the corner of Cobbora Road, Yarrandale Road and Tony McGrane Place dragged on.
On Wednesday Macquarie Homestay’s volunteer chairman Rod Crowfoot acknowledged the “frustration” of his committee and the community at the delay in the turning of the first sod.
But three recommendations adopted by the council at its monthly meeting in April have him optimistic of stage one building beginning “later this year”.
“It’s taken longer than we anticipated but we appear to have reached some milestones which give us an indication that there’s light at the end of the tunnel in the near future,” he said.
Mr Crowfoot said the Macquarie Homestay committee’s decision to nail down design, fit-out and operational details had also played a part in pushing back the construction start date.
Orana region residents have been surveyed as to what they want to find when they walk inside Macquarie Homestay.
“We want to build the most appropriate facility not just what we thought we needed,” the chairman said.
Mr Crowfoot said “tenure of the site” would be followed by an application for development approval and construction certificate from the council.
Stage one of the facility will contain 14 rooms and feature common areas between wings.
It will be a template for stage two for which planning is complete.
The Macquarie Homestay master plan includes five stages of development costing $22 million.
Mr Crowfoot said “in excess of $3.5 million” was in the project’s kitty with fundraising continuing along with applications for grants.
He said the facility would be run by a paid manager, probably with support from not-for-profit groups that had offered to help in a variety of ways, including gardening and keeping patients company.
“We’ll be running it ourselves,” Mr Crowfoot said.
“We’ll be retaining ownership and control of the facility.
“We’re not going to give it to a third party who might choose to change the agenda of the facility.”
The vacant Crown land sought by Macquarie Homestay was formally part of the city’s racecourse.
It was excised from the racecourse when the Yarrandale Road deviation was built in 2009.
A report to the council meeting proposed that the proceeds of the sale should be “dedicated to the upkeep and maintenance of other Crown land in Dubbo that council has been appointed trust manager”.
With consent, the land would be sold at “valuation” price as determined by the valuer general.
In the event of a sale the council is asking that “restrictions be imposed preventing future dealings in respect of the subject land without the express authority of council” in order to protect the public interest in Dubbo and the region.