The decommissioned Residential Aged Care Facility (RACF) at Havilah Place has languished, empty and unused, for over five years. Once a vital resource, the site is now deemed unfit for its original purpose, leaving a prime piece of real estate in limbo.

Deputy Mayor Imogen Draisma, backed by Councillor Stuart Larkins, plans to introduce a motion at the August council meeting to explore a mixed-use redevelopment of the site. The proposed development would prioritise affordable and social housing, addressing a growing need within the community.

“When we talk about affordable housing: we are talking about nurses, teachers, frontline workers and aged care workers who cannot afford to live in the communities that they work in,” Clr Draisma emphasised.

Clr Larkins highlighted the Council's previous decision to subdivide 1 Havilah Place, noting that the decommissioned RACF and Kiama Community Garden were intentionally kept separate from the five-stage independent living project, ‘Blue Haven Terralong.’

Sharing a personal perspective, Clr Draisma recounted, "Like many others, it took my partner and myself over two months of inspections and applications before we were able to secure a rental in the LGA. There is simply not enough affordable rentals to house the people who keep this town running and it is simply not good enough that some Councillors believe that affordable housing is a pie-in-the-sky issue for Council.”

Acknowledging the urgency of the situation, Clr Draisma added, " We are experiencing a housing crisis and Council must be part of the solution instead of shirking away from the challenge of delivering housing - which is a fundamental human right."

Clr Larkins pointed to the site's strategic advantages, saying that the location is ideal, “with access to nearby public transport, sport facilities, the Kiama Leisure Centre, retail, health services and the Princes Highway.”

Clr Draisma concluded with a call to action, stating, "The opportunity to redevelop this site presents once in a lifetime opportunity to work with the community in addressing the Performance Improvement Order and also delivering an innovative project that can provide additional housing in Kiama."

It must be noted that back in April Bugle journalist Malcolm King wrote in his article Old Blue Haven Care site empty as rents soar that Kiama Municipal Council has sat on the old Blue Haven care home in Havilah Place for almost four years.

Upon hearing this, Kiama’s state MP Gareth Ward has weighed in saying, “I’ve previously raised with council the redevelopment and repurposing of the old Blue Haven site for the greater community good. However, nothing happened.

“Labor Councillors have had four years to raise this issue and have done nothing. The community isn’t stupid, and we know Labor Councillors are only saying this now because we are only a few weeks away from an election.

“Let’s hope the next council is focused on outcomes for our community rather than transparent stunts before an election.

“The last thing we need is party politics in local government and this ‘announcement’ is just another example of why.”