New units planned for United Care Ageing's Hyandra Village

Subject to development approval by Griffith City Council at a later date, the units will be erected as additions to the United Hyandra Retirement & Independent living facility on Hyandra Street.

Development will see the demolition of two houses to make way for the units, with an architect appointed and now drawing up plans.

It's expected the units will be built and sold in stages, with the sale of the first to compensate for the building of a second.

The project is being spear-headed by the not-for-profit organisation Hyandra Village Board of Management, under the auspice of Uniting Care.

Chairperson, Margo Crowley, says if the project is approved by council, it will be a boon for aged care accommodation in Griffith, with around 37 currently on the waiting list for the Hyandra village.

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"This has been in our budget for a very long time," Ms Crowley said.

"We hope in the next month the houses on the land in question will be demolished. From there, we will liaison with council.

"If we can have our development application in by the end of the year and it is approved, we may be able to start calling for tenders early next year. We would like to see the project completed by 2025 and people able to move in the year after that. But we will wait and see.

"We won't know an overall cost until our architect has completed plans and we know exactly how many units can be established.

"There is a demand for self-care aged accommodation, particularly as Griffith has an ageing population. Many elderly people want to be in the northern part of the city, close to doctors, the supermarket, the hospital, and churches."

She envisions management of the Hyandra facility could also change if the units become a reality.

"We may have to employ someone on a part time basis or have a live-in caretaker to run things day to day, whether it be cutting lawns or trimming hedges. That's because our aim and effort is to ensure residents have quality of life and aren't having to worry about maintenance," Ms Crowley said.

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