Community groups advocate for reopening of local senior facilities

In Australia, the Babinda District Aged Care Association is advocating for the reopening of the Cootharinga Gardens facility. The association’s leadership, including president Carly Francis, maintains that a statutory covenant on the land title must be honored, which restricts the site’s use to community care or residential facilities for the elderly. The Cairns Regional Council recently resolved to protect the facility’s intended purpose by retaining the protective covenant and leaving ownership with Cootharinga.

In the United Kingdom, community members and the Suffolk Pensioners' Association are campaigning to reopen the Olive Centre in Lowestoft. The venue has remained vacant since February following the sudden collapse of the Access Community Trust, which resulted in the redundancy of 96 staff members. Despite petitions and expressions of interest regarding the site, the hub remains closed, impacting vulnerable adults and elderly residents in the Suffolk and Norfolk regions.