Abbeyfield House - Revocation of Community Land

Background

Council is proposing to revoke the Community Land classification of land at 5 St Lawrence Avenue, Edwardstown (Abbeyfield House). The process of revoking a community land classification is known as revocation. The first step was community consultation on the proposed revocation.

The purpose of this consultation was to seek feedback on the Section 194 Report which details councils’ proposal to revoke the community land classification. This is a requirement of the Local Government Act 1999 in the process for the revocation of Community Land classification.

If Ministerial consent is granted, Council will initiate a select Expression of Interest (EOI) process for the sale of the land to a disability-focused community housing provider and seek through the EOI process to protect the ongoing occupation for existing residents.

Marion Council, as the property owner, has no control over how Abbeyfield House is run. Management and operations are solely the responsibility of the lessee, and Council cannot influence service delivery.

We are very conscious of the needs of the existing residents and that will be our number one priority. Council aims to seek assurances through the EOI process to protect ongoing occupation for existing residents.

Consultation is now closed.

For more information, contact council's Property and Facilities Team on (08) 7420 6410 or email communityengagement@marion.sa.gov.au

Consultation closed at 5pm on Thursday 17 April.

Timeline

Timeline item 1 - complete

General Council meeting

Council endorsed the Section 194 Report for community consultation.
Timeline item 2 - complete

Meeting with affected stakeholders

Council's Property and Facilites Team have consulted with the resident’s committee/ relatives/ parent of residents.
Timeline item 3 - complete

Community consultation opens

20 March 2025
Timeline item 4 - active

Community consultation is now closed

17 April 2025

Document library

Section 194 Report for consultation
PDF (977.50 KB)

Frequently Asked Questions

Most land that is owned by Council or under its care and control is set aside for the public to use and enjoy.

All local government land (except roads) that is owned by Council or is under the care, control and management of Council is classified as Community Land under the Local Government Act 1999, unless it has been exempted through legislation, excluded by resolution of Council or the classification has been revoked.

This land is classified as “Community Land” to make sure it is looked after for the benefit of the whole community and to reflect that some land has special meaning to locals because of important cultural or historic features. Council is responsible for actively managing this land.

Sometimes Council needs to consider whether it is in the long-term interests of the community that the protection of a parcel of land under the classification of Community Land should continue. Council (in consultation with the community) may decide that such protection under this classification is no longer required, to enable the land to be sold.

The Local Government Act 1999 contains important restrictions on the ability of Council to revoke and sell its Community Land. Community Land cannot be sold without first consulting with the broader community and giving the public an opportunity to consider any proposal to sell the land. Council must take into account the views and opinions of the public when Council makes its decision as to whether it will revoke the Community Land status of the land.

There is a further step in the process. The Minister for Local Government must also consider the overall merits of the proposal and decide whether to consent to the revocation and sale and give Council the authority to proceed.

Section 194 of the Local Government Act 1999 requires Council to prepare a report on a proposal to revoke the Community Land classification of any land and to make the report available, and follow the steps set out in its public consultation policy before considering any submissions and submitting the proposal to the Minister for Local Government for decision. The report describes the proposal, the reasons behind it, where the land is located and the possible future use of the land.

The feedback received from the consultation will be used to assist Council in its decision making process.

All feedback is provided to the Marion Council to review and decide whether to progress to a formal application to the Minister for Planning to remove the community land classification on the land.

If the land revocation process is successful council will undertake an Expression of Interest (EOI) process to seek proposals for the sale of 5 St Lawrence Avenue, Edwardstown to a disability focused community housing provider and seek assurances through the EOI process to protect the ongoing occupation for existing residents.

Abbeyfield House and the land it occupies are community land owned by the City of Marion.

The City of Marion has owned the land for several decades.

In 1988, Marion Council secured funding through the Local Government and Community Housing Programme (LGCHP) to build an aged care facility. The State Government contributed $220,000, while Council provided two blocks of land, $73,778 in funds, and a loan to the Abbeyfield Society to complete the project.

Years later, the facility transitioned from aged care accommodation to housing for people with disabilities.

Council has decided that this will be an exception to Council’s Disposal of Land and Assets Policy because it wants to seek to ensure the protection of the existing residents should be given priority over maximising market value.

Disability focused Community Housing Providers that take part in the Select EOI process will be required to outline how they will prioritise the accommodation needs of existing residents of the property to remain in the property.

A specialist disability housing provider would be best placed to manage the property directly and monitor the welfare of the residents.

A clause in the 1988 funding agreement for the construction of the house provides for the South Australian Housing Trust (SAHT) having the option to purchase the property. SAHT have been approached by the City of Marion and have advised that they are not interested in purchasing the property.

If the community land classification is revoked and the property is sold to a disability focussed community housing provider following the select EOI process, a portion of the sale funds will go to SAHT in accordance with the funding agreement entered into when the property was built.

The remainer will be allocated to the City of Marion Open Space Reserve Fund to be used for the purchase of, or upgrades to, community open space within the City of Marion.