THE establishment of a $5 million Women’s Group Home at Moonee Beach has been approved by the Northern Regional Planning Panel.

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The development involves demolishing existing structures at 735 Solitary Islands Way, Moonee Beach that have been used for a Group Home for men, and the construction of new structures for use as a Transitional Group Home for women called Adele Womens Group Home.

The twenty male clients currently living at the existing group home will be relocated to another recently constructed group home run by Adele House at Bucca.

Adele House is a registered charity that was established in 1984, and is one of the oldest drug and alcohol rehabilitation services in NSW.

Adele House operates an accredited abstinence-based residential treatment program where the clients reside for three to twelve months and undergo intensive counselling and recovery sessions.

For the past ten years, at any one time, the Moonee Beach facility has assisted up to 20 men who are recovering from drug and alcohol addiction.

The new Moonee Beach facility will include twenty client bedrooms and one staff bedroom, kitchen/dining facilities, a small gym, a yoga centre, an office, therapy and counselling rooms, gardens and an enclosed outdoor recreation area.

It will be staffed 24/7 and no client will be able to drive or have a vehicle while they are at Adele House.

The new development will be used for residential rehabilitation programs for women recovering from drug and alcohol problems.

Onsite services to be provided at the group home include therapy, counselling, gardening, exercise, cooking, reading, and computer work.

The development application for the group home was unanimously approved by the Northern Regional Planning Panel in December, 2020.

The DA was referred to the Northern Regional Planning Panel for assessment because it was deemed a ‘regionally significant development’ and had a capital investment value of more than $5 million.

In coming to its decision, the panel considered four written submissions made during public exhibition of the development application last year and heard from those wishing to address the panel.

Issues of concern relating to the development included aboriginal heritage, privacy, noise and concerns of runoff from wastewater treatment.

The panel stated in its determination that the concerns raised by the community had been adequately addressed in Coffs Harbour City Council’s assessment report on the development application, which recommended approval of the DA.

By Emma DARBIN