The massive redevelopment Wests Group is planning for its Mayfield club once the Knights' centre of excellence is built at Broadmeadow can finally be revealed.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Plans submitted to the Hunter and Central Coast Regional Planning Panel, which told the licenced club group it needed to refine its proposal in September, show the extent of development under consideration.
Wests had applied for pre-planning approval for a 216-bed aged-care facility and 262 serviced dwellings.
The proposal was ultimately refused for a site compatibility certificate because the scale of the project was an "overdevelopment" and would be detrimental to the surrounding area and amenity of future residents.
Plans obtained by the Newcastle Herald show the project incorporated three multi-storey buildings for the 262 serviced dwellings, a combination of one, two and three bedroom apartments.
One of the buildings was to occupy the training field used by the Knights, while the two others were proposed for above the site's existing car park.
Those two buildings marked the highest point of the proposal at nine-storeys, two above the existing motel.
A separate seven-storey building, for the 216 aged-care beds, was proposed for a vacant parcel of land west of the licenced club.
The aged-care building incorporated a basement car park with direct access off Industrial Drive.
However, Roads and Maritime Services said it was "unlikely" to support access for anything but emergency vehicles.
The proposal shows Wests is also considering restricting public access to the site's popular Balance gym and pool, making it available for exclusive use by residents.
Wests Group CEO Phil Gardner told the Newcastle Herald after the panel's refusal a refined proposal would likely be forthcoming.
"We'll go back and review it and probably come back with a more conservative plan," he said. "I think the main issue they have is bulk and scale."
Mr Gardner said seniors housing was appropriate for the Mayfield site.
"If you look at Industrial Drive, there's retirement living all the way up and down it. It's an appropriate place for it. It's close to town."
A development application for the Knights' centre of excellence at Broadmeadow is yet to be approved.
Wests is also planning two 15-storey residential towers for a site next to its city club on King Street in Newcastle.
