Structure Plan

An evolving Structure Plan for the Manly Hospital Site

Structure Plan

The Structure Plan forms the overall master plan and development strategy for the Manly Hospital site where a decision has been made to demolish all the existing buildings and construct an entirely new facility on the site.   A Zonal Master Plan (Preliminary Report below) was prepared on 22 June’18 by Cox Architecture to explore potential site design options.  In this plan Option 1A would appear to be that preferred for Health and Well being Uses.

Manly Hospital_Zonal Master Plan.compressed (1)

In this case the Structure Plan is able to consider all the aggregated community preferences for developing a Manly Community-driven Health Care Facility (McHCF) on the site without regard to the more detailed constraints associated with preserving any existing buildings.   This report is designed to inform a Master Plan summarising the features and conditions of the existing site which will effect its potential future uses.  The vision driving the site’s transition is through a variety of stages (immediate, short, medium and long terms) shaped to reflect community priorities, the pragmatics of the site itself and its surrounding infrastructure (such as roads, power & water supplies, etc.).

The Structure Plan will evolve as a collaborative process involving the local community, stakeholders and state agencies (State, Federal and Council representatives).  It will evolve initially from the ongoing feedback from the Northern Beaches community, including community interactions gained through the use of social media tools (web portal and facebook page).   A Community-driven Steering Committee will guide community engagement and consultation, including, stakeholders and state agencies in shape the various stages of design (for aged care, hospice, affordable housing for care workers, disability residents and both private and public health care services).  Once such a Steering Committee is in place (as a possible extension to the existing PSAC driven by NSW Health Infrastructure), it is expected that the community will be consulted through many other and various means as well, including:-

• Notices in the Manly Daily
• Displays at Council Customer Service Centres
• Pamphlets and brochures
• Meetings with interested parties and community members 

One of the essential first steps in kicking off the Structure Plan is the definition of the “envelope’ available for building construction on the site:

• Contamination Assessments
• Zoning restrictions and Re-Zoning opportunities, like “inclusionary zoning”
• Heritage Considerations
• Height Restrictions
• State Significance Design (SSD regulations)
• Floor Space Ratios (FSR)
• Local Environment Plan (LEP)
• Setback Restrictions
• Existing Infrastructure provisions like plumbing, water supply, sewage, electricity and gas supplies, backup power supplies, heating, telecommunications, lighting, security, etc.

Eventually multiple design scenarios of innovative and pragmatic development plans will become available for sharing with the community.   Invitation for Expressions of Interest (EOI) from the private sector will be issues for the design, construct, operation and maintenance of the various facilities wanting to be made available by the community at the site.  These design and construction responses will serve to further evolve the Structure Plan into more granular levels of detail.   The construction options thereby made possible will open the way for increased dwellings for local residents, new job opportunities, increased retail outlets for a wide range of health care services and facilitate community involvement in filling the many health care gaps that currently exist.  The EOIs will promote a “Green Star” rating of environmental sustainability and liveable community principles. Principles like no car based transport solutions, suggesting a shift from private to public transportation.  This, once in a life time opportunity, will create a community-driven an urban renewable living environment (healthy life-style, energy, waste, recycling, etc.).   

Key Benefits of the Project

• Care for our Aged and chronically ill – to extent out into the broader Community as most prefer to stay at home. Through site resident experiences, with modern technology (eHealth) and mobile devices, more care can be extended into the home (Home Hospital).  Thereby delivering greater health benefits, taking pressure off our Hospital systems and enabling local employment for specialist nurses, social workers and doctors.
• Affordable Rental Housing for care workers – targeting social/key workers (carers, nurses, teachers, students, police), First Home Buyers (FHB), Single parent families (SPF),   Those most impacted by rising home & rental prices would be able to continue living and working locally, benefiting local employment, our available care services and the community generally. 
• Rehabilitation (for Addictions) – self-inflicted health problems are often self-preventable and self-manageable. Through associated research, education and support aiding this self-help cycle, it can also be extended across the broader community.   Problems like obesity, alcoholism, drugs, gambling, pornography & technology addictions are occurring in epidemic proportions across our community.   Addressing such addictions will not only benefit the addicted but also the community and again lessen its current burden on our Health & Hospital systems. 
• Palliative Care Hospice – especially for adults over 18 (a major gap in our local community health service) who have nowhere to go other than Hospital and Aged Care facilities. Again such a facility can extent into the Hospital Home where most would prefer to be, during such an emotional time for all involved, thereby helping to lower the additional pressure placed upon relationships.
• Physical and Mental Illness – especially for the Disabled with physical and/or mental disorders, like those with Dementia & Alzheimer’s – areas requiring far more research, carer education, specialist care and involvement with loved ones. Again with specialist skills and facilities available locally, many can spend extended periods at home, providing respite for family carers and support from others faced with the similar challenges
• Education and Research – available space enabling related studies into chronic illnesses and best practice ways of care.   A mecca for our local talent to leverage their skills, find onsite accommodation and remain within our community surrounded by community members most in need of their talent, expertise and breakthrough in key Health Care domains. An ideal extended location might be the Old Artillery School on North Head?  
• Administration, Governance and Health Care Businesses – while people involved in these activities might not reside on site, the facility would enable many such needed specialists to be attracted to working on site and occupy available retail and commercial space (Doctors, Physios, Pharmacies, Funding Advisers & Administrators, Cafes, Health Facilities, Gymnasiums, Education and Training, etc.). Creating many employment opportunities for businesses and members of our local communities.
• Volunteers – the greatest untapped resource in Australia. The site would provide a great opportunity to develop a large bank of volunteers and authenticated volunteer initiatives within the local community.   Site residents, not able to undertake full-time paid work, would be able to participate in the many site tasks made possible by the site – gardening, repairs, visitations, education and training, maintenance chores, painting, etc.  Again such volunteer services could then readily extend into local community care efforts.

Secondary Health Care Site

The early provision of a secondary health care site (like the Queenscliff Health Care facility at Queenscliff) would serve to add important dimensions to the transition plan, funding models, speed to market of our more urgent health care services (like Refuges, Rehabilitation and Hospice) and facilitate early sustainable cask flows while the Manly Hospital Site is being developed.

Implementation

Stage 1         Immediate – 0-3 years

Stage 2         Short Term – 3-5 years

Stage 3         Medium term – 5-10 years

Stage 4         Long Term/Strategic – 10+ years

Funding – Costs

Appreciating the NB Hospital Structure Plan to develop 35 hectares of land adjacent the new Frenches Forest Hospital is estimated to cost towards $1 billion, an indicative cost to the develop the 7 hectare Manly Hospital site would be of the order of $150 mill.  While there is expected to be much lower height restrictions and the like, the public  investment for our proposed McHCF will be substantial.  A key caveat placed upon the community by NSW Health for the take-up of the Manly Hospital site is that they incur no long term debt.  Therefore most of the funding would expect to come from the private sector, with some public state agencies (Federal, State and Council), charities, local community and philanthropic funding support for non-commercial health care initiatives (like Hospice, Refuge and Rehabilitation facilities).