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FREE WEEKLY COMMUNITY PAPER
[ 27 March - 2 April March 2026 ] Kiama Minnamurra Kiama Downs Jamberoo Gerringong Gerroa
Is Gerringong AI-generated? Too good to be true? Turn to page 2
Rubble trouble at Havilah Place I Olivia Funnell
t's become a familiar sight in one of Kiama's busiest areas – a pile of concrete behind construction site fencing; the old nursing home, which began demolishment in mid-September 2025. The eyesore is also an earsore, with construction sounds reverberating to neighbouring Blue Haven Terralong Street, residents of the aged care
facility claim. “The last three months have been really noisy,” says longterm Blue Haven resident Boni Maywald, who has lived at both Bonaira Street and Terralong Street aged care facilities. According to Maywald, residents of Blue Haven Terralong Street keep their balcony doors and windows closed in an effort to try and block out the sound. “Normally what we have is
the escarpment, the playing fields, and hardly any passing traffic, just Havilah Place back road,” she says. “Now. everybody has taken this option of shutting the window and doors.” Kiama Council’s former nursing home, located at 2 Havilah Place, was vacated in 2019 and became unsafe due to mould, vandalism, and structural damage. According to Council,
ongoing costs to secure and maintain the building (including fences, patrols, and emergency call-outs) were no longer sustainable. After an open, competitive tender process, Council appointed TCE Contracting, a demolition company, to undertake the removal of the building and clear the site. Demolition began in mid-September 2025 and is expected to be complete by the
end of March 2026. However, the future of Havilah Place is causing ongoing angst for elders in the area. A key concern? The height of a future development. “People, of course, moved [to Blue Haven] because of the ambiance of the site,” says Maywald. “You’re either looking to the greenery or you're looking to the ocean.” She has heard rumours of a
seven-storey development being considered for the site; however, Council has not confirmed this. Council, as part of adopting its Strategic Finance and Governance Improvement Plan in June 2024, resolved to progress the subdivision of the disused residential care home from the remainder of the Blue Haven Terralong site. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2