The Northern Beaches is one of Sydney’s most desirable places to live – beautiful, community-minded and well-connected. But for older residents, it’s becoming increasingly hard to stay in the area they love. That’s because there simply aren’t enough seniors housing options to meet local demand.

Many people who have raised families here, volunteered here, and built lifelong friendships are finding themselves priced out or forced to move away once maintaining a large home becomes too much. They don’t want to leave the surf club, the neighbours, or the local café scene — they just need housing that suits their stage of life.

Right now, downsizers on the Northern Beaches face limited choice: a few retirement villages with long waiting lists, or apartment developments that don’t necessarily cater to accessibility, social connection, or ageing-in-place needs. This imbalance isn’t just a personal issue — it’s a community one. When people can’t stay local, we lose mentors, volunteers, and grandparents who play a vital role in the social fabric of our suburbs.

More seniors housing – well-designed for ageing in place and close to local services – means people can keep living where their lives are rooted. It also frees up family homes for the next generation, easing housing pressure across the board.

In short, the Northern Beaches doesn’t just need more housing – it needs the type of purpose built housing Indigo by Moran offers.

My wife and I are interested in moving into the new Indigo Moran project to be built in Ocean Road Narrabeen as we need to move in the near future due to our age and disabilities. The Northern Beaches are desperate for the facilities Indigo Moran offer and we support their application for the proposed project.

I feel this project can only add to the community of Narrabeen. It will be an attractive addition to the suburb. As a result of this project it will provide much needed homes/units to be available to the market as people move to an alternative type of accommodation.

After seeing the Cronulla project by the Moran Group & seeing not only how seamlessly it blends into the existing landscape and area but, also the quality of the building & facilities, I would wholeheartedly support this for my Northern beaches friends & family.

To Who It May Concern,

I have only just become aware of the above application to NSW Planning.

As a resident of the Northern Beaches I am concerned that such an application has even been allowed to be lodged.

Here follows a list of objections which I implore you to seriously consider.

APPLYING AS AN SSD IS RIDICULOUS

I have referred to the definition and I am struggling to see how any of it applies.

1. ECONOMIC REASONS


The only economic benefit will be to the Moran Group in sales of the 149 units which are currently priced from $ 3-4 million. It is not a local group so none of the money will be spent on the Northern Beaches. Having more people in one spot does not necessarily mean they will spend more. If anything, having at least 149 more elderly people in the area will be a strain on the local ambulance service at Narrabeen, on the health services at doctors' surgeries, which are already struggling to hire and retain doctors and on the one and only hospital we have between Palm Beach and Manly, Northern Beaches Hospital, which has its own issues.

Our infrastructure can only accommodate so many people, especially if the new people are not paying taxes and are paying lower rates because they are retirees.
Where will the extra money come from? Are you planning to raise our rates AGAIN? There comes a point when you cannot squeeze blood out of a stone. Many older people I know are still working because they cannot afford to retire so please don't assume that we are all rolling in money in this area, All we want to do is to be able to keep a roof over our head and live out our final years in peace.
Only a select clientele will be able to afford these units, none of them being families or young people looking for a roof over their heads. Most of the recent sales of these overpriced units in the local area have been retirees from the Eastern Suburbs. Young families and professionals are being pushed out of this area which is fast becoming the retirement centre of Sydney.

This new build is in no way seniors housing. Putting a 10 bed residential area in it does not make it qualify.

What makes is seniors housing?
None of the seniors I know, including me, could afford to buy one of these units.
Moran claims they have been approached by locals to buy already.
How did they know about them in the first place? Moran must have begun advertising them long before they put in the plans. I am a local and I have only just heard about them.

2. THE ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFIT?

What IS the environmental benefit ? I can only see more environmental damage.
Narrabeen Beach is one of the most environmentally fragile beaches on the Eastern seaboard. Every time there is a storm or heavy rain the sand is washed away and the shore has to be protected by the council. How can having 149 new units and parking for nearly 200 extra cars on a very narrow and busy street be environmentally beneficial?

3. SOCIAL REASONS

There is absolutely NO social necessity for this development. Is it for over 55s? Is it just for sale on the open market? What?
And please don't tell me this area needs more aged housing. There are 32 senior housing places on the Northern Beaches already. The RSL Anzac Village at Narrabeen alone caters for around 700 people. This new development will not take care of local retirees, if that is the plan, because it is not local retirees who are buying. I live on the Northern Beaches and I could not afford one of these new units even if I sold everything I own.
All the new developments going up as a result of the new Mid-rise reforms are selling for a minimum of $3 million . How is this helping the area grow and flourish? Every new development is more out of reach of the average person. Professionals are leaving this area in droves because they cannot afford to live here, so instead of supporting affordable or even reasonable housing, you will be catering for people who no longer work and are ,perhaps, unaware, that they are contributing to the mass exodus taking place. How will you explain it to them when they cannot find a doctor to take them on as patients, or why they have to wait an hour for an ambulance.

Also, the present housing at Ocean St. provides much needed transitional, affordable housing for women in crisis, women experiencing financial insecurity or a crisis event. Where will these women go? Will they be offered accommodation in the new units? I highly doubt it.
By allowing this new development you will be removing a much needed social service for local women and replacing it with high-end housing which only the elite can afford. How is this helping socially? It isn't.
The government has made much of the need to support these women and their families yet is ready to remove a life-saving service for many, to please a few, especially the developers.

I have gone through every basis on which this development is relying for approval. I cannot see how any benefits could possibly outweigh the advantages.

Please take our objections seriously. We are not all rich people born with a silver spoon in our mouths. I grew up in Smithfield and worked 2 jobs for years to live here. That was my choice. People are paying just as much for houses in Lidcombe, as they are here now, so please, no rich NIMB profiling. Others simply choose to live on a train line and nearer the city. Their choice.

Again, please, please listen to our objections.

Regards

Therese Keane

There is insufficient housing for seniors in the area and this project looks amazing. It will provide much needed relief and support in our community.

1. Overdevelopment and Non-Compliance
o The proposal exceeds the intended scale of the R2 Low Density Residential Zone under the Northern Beaches LEP 2011.
o The building height (21.5 m) and bulk disregard Clause 4.3 Height of Buildings and the Housing SEPP 2021 design principles.
2. Environmental and Coastal Risk
o The site is mapped within Coastal Environment and Coastal Vulnerability Areas under the Coastal SEPP 2018.
o Excavating more than 11 m into the water table risks flooding, saline intrusion, and structural instability.
3. Poor Design and Minimal Sustainability
o The BASIX scores barely meet minimum standards with little evidence of passive solar design or energy efficiency.
o This fails to meet the intent of Clause 3.6 of the Housing SEPP and Section B5 of the Northern Beaches DCP.
4. Lack of Transparency and Community Input
o There was no genuine community consultation before lodgement, and the exhibition period of just two weeks is unreasonable given the project’s scale and complexity.
5. Governance and Precedent
o The absence of an Independent Design Review Panel undermines confidence in the assessment process.
o Approval would set a dangerous precedent for further large-scale developments along the Narrabeen peninsula.

I support the proposed retirement village development in Narrabeen as lodged, as I would love to have the option of my parents living there. The location is ideal, close to the community they know, with access to shops, medical facilities, and the natural beauty of the area. I especially appreciate that the plans retain many of the existing trees and natural features, helping preserve the character and greenery that make Narrabeen so special.

I wish to object to the above project.
As a local resident I'm concerned that the proposed development exceeds the local planning which will be out of character with the surrounding buildings. This isn't my only objection. The government has made a commitment to providing affordable housing. However, this proposal removes existing affordable housing and replaces it with expensive new stock. Narrabeen is a small village with limited street parking and doesn't have the infrastructure to support this overdevelopment in an area that floods. This large proposed block will have a massive impact on the vehicular access via Lagoon Street which also has limited on-street parking. The development will need to accommodate all resident and visitor parking. The existing traffic in the area is already burdened by excessive developments in Dee Why. This over developed building will add to the problem.
I believe there are sufficient grounds to reject this application.