A group planning a retirement village near Alexandra says the Central Lakes Trust is reluctant to provide seed money for a feasibility study so it will have to raise the $30,000 from its supporters.
However, the trust says it would welcome ‘‘further dialogue'' with the retirement village proponents if the project was reshaped in some way. The non-profit charitable trust Leaning Rock Village Inc plans a retirement village between Molyneux Estate and the Alexandra golf course.
About 250 people attended a meeting in May last year to gauge support for the venture. The development would include full-care facilities and self-care units and be run by a community-owned trust.
Leaning Rock trust chairman Russell Checketts said it was disappointing the Central Lakes Trust was reluctant to help by providing a grant of about $30,000 for the feasibility study. He felt the group was ‘‘beating our heads against the brick wall of bureaucracy'' so it opted to seek the funds from its supporters instead.
The people likely to be first in line for accommodation at the retirement village were the same generation which contributed to the Otago Central Electric Power Board and ultimately the Central Lakes Trust, he said.
‘‘I have no issues about other projects, such as youth-based ones, the trust supports, I just think there needs to be some generational equity and that hasn't happened.''
Central Lakes Trust chief executive Paul Allison said the CLT discussed its stance on retirement villages with the Leaning Rock village representatives.
‘‘ ... retirement villages are generally considered to be deemed commercial and are catered for by commercial providers. We are aware of several proposed commercial developments being planned in this region that will aim to meet market demands.''
Although it was felt market forces would prevail, it was made clear the trust would welcome further dialogue, as there was a suggestion the project might be reshaped, Mr Allison said.
The village proponents also said it was likely they could source other funding to cover the feasibility study, he said.
Mr Checketts said the Central Otago District Council had been ‘‘extremely helpful'' and was working on lifting the reserve status of the land so the site could be available for construction of the village.
‘‘This is a chicken-and-egg situation. We need to do the feasibility study to prove it's a viable option for funders but first we have to raise money for that.''
