To: NSW State Planning Team
Subject: Letter of Support – Indigo by Moran Retirement Living Proposal

6th November 2025
Dear Planning Team,
As a long-term participant in the Australian seniors living and aged care property sector, I wish to express my full support for the proposed Indigo by Moran retirement living development.
The Northern Beaches region has long faced a shortage of high-quality, well-located accommodation options that allow older residents to remain in the area they know and love. This project directly responds to that unmet need by providing thoughtfully designed, community-focused homes that promote independence, dignity, and social connection for local retirees.
The proposal also delivers clear social and economic benefits for the broader community. By enabling older residents to right-size locally, family homes are returned to the market for younger families — improving housing turnover and community balance. Importantly, the proponent’s track record of collaboration with the Northern Beaches Women’s Shelter and Bridge Housing highlights a genuine commitment to social responsibility and positive local outcomes.
I believe Indigo by Moran represents the kind of well-considered, needs-based development that strengthens the fabric of our local communities while addressing an urgent demographic challenge. I urge the Department to support its progression.
Kind regards,
Specialist In aged care

I am writing to share my support for the proposed Indigo by Moran retirement village on the Northern Beaches. I think it’s a really positive project that will benefit both older locals and the wider community.

From what I’ve seen of the plans, the design looks fantastic — modern, welcoming, and in keeping with the area. I like the greenery, open balconies, and outdoor spaces for residents and families to enjoy. The five-storey height seems totally reasonable — if anything, pretty modest compared to other Sydney developments. I know locals can get nervous about “taller” buildings, but honestly, five storeys isn’t exactly a skyscraper!

My parents have been looking for somewhere nearby to downsize for a while now, but there are hardly any retirement villages in the area with available units. They’d love to stay close to the beach and the community they’ve been part of for decades, but finding something that’s both supportive and well-designed has been nearly impossible. This development would finally give people like them a chance to stay local, while living somewhere safe, comfortable, and easy to manage as they get older. It also keeps them closer to our family, which will be so important as they get older and need more support.

I’ve also seen how much of a difference moving into a retirement village can make. My grandparents moved into similar places in other parts of Sydney, and it was life-changing for them. They’ve made new friends, have access to great facilities, and feel much more supported day to day. It’s really nice to see that kind of positive change, and I think a development like this would bring that same sense of community for elderly people to the Northern Beaches.

As a first-home buyer, I have to admit I’m also cheering this on for selfish reasons — when older residents have better downsizing options, it helps free up family homes for people like me who are trying to get a foot in the door. With how tough the housing market is right now, developments like this make a real difference for everyone, not just retirees.

Overall, I really hope this project goes ahead. It’s something the Northern Beaches genuinely needs — more retirement living options for locals, a boost to the housing supply, and a well-designed community that fits beautifully into the area.

This is a necessity due to the housing crisis. This is one of the many projects that are going to be needed to deal with the over immigration that we are experiencing at present.

1. I have taken this information from the Northern Beaches Council website today and as
the Indigo development is in Narrabeen the proposal therefore does not fit in with the new controls.

On the Northern Beaches, the new controls will apply to all residential zoned land within 800 metres walking distance of:
Balgowlah Stockland Shopping Centre
Dee Why Town Centre
Forestville Town Centre
Forestway Shopping Centre
Frenchs Forest Precinct (Warringah Road)
Manly Town Centre
Manly Vale Town Centre
Mona Vale Town Centre
Warringah Mall Shopping Centre
Following Council staff submissions, four town centres that had originally been proposed to be included in the Stage 2 Reforms have been excluded: Warriewood, Narrabeen, Newport and Belrose. 

2. The original Wesley Taylor Mission is only two storey and is appropriate for the character of this low lying beach community. Ocean street originally was surrounded by farms and weekenders.
The development by Moran is not within the development controls and is unsuitable for a coastal environment.

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.