A development application to gut and reconfigure the Wesley Heights Village Tower in Manly has alarmed residents, who say they learned of the $8 million proposal only after a notice appeared on the front door, and who now face the prospect of living through construction that could stretch across decades.
Part of Uniting Wesley Heights Manly, the Village Tower includes 81 studios, five one-bedrooms, guest rooms and small common rooms. Essentially, 96 studio Independent Living Units (ILU). The proposal (DA), costed at over $8 million, is to refurbish the interior of the building to create half the number of units: 48 one-bedroom ILUs.
“Uniting has found it difficult to find tenants for studio apartments, and once people move in, they often request a transfer to a one-bedroom shortly after,” a Uniting spokesperson told Manly Observer.
“Given these demonstrated consumer preferences, Uniting has decided to upgrade the property. The upgrades will also improve accessibility for less mobile residents and the general accommodation standard for all.”
Current studio residents don’t agree. Those who spoke with Manly Observer say they’re happy with the size of their units, the affordable rent and the facilities, which have been continually upgraded.
“I think [Uniting] is leaning into luxury apartments,” Terry Metherell explained. Metherell is a long-term resident of the Village Tower and has lived on the Northern Beaches since 1980 before moving to Manly in 1995 to raise his family.
“I’ve spoken with local real estate agents, and they estimate the price of the units would be around $1.5 to $1.7 million, especially for the apartments on the upper levels with their views of the ocean and harbour.”
Currently, 15 of the 96 units are vacant.
“Uniting have deliberately left those studios vacant because they’ve been planning this development, but in a housing crisis, I think that’s poor form,” Metherell asserted.
Residents were told three weeks after the DA notification was placed on the front door that should the DA be approved, construction would be a gradual process.
“Uniting will complete the works in stages over several years, as units become vacant through normal resident departures,” the spokesperson said.
“The upgrades have been planned for some time and will help ensure the village remains an attractive option for future residents.”
Residents informed Manly Observer that they were told the redevelopment could take 10, 20 or even 30 years.
“The hell will just go on and on,” Metherell said after the meeting.
“What would ten years of bedlam mean when you’re 80? My neighbour said her health won’t hold up in construction conditions with noise and dust.
“Either we’ll die or leave due to the noise or be enticed to move to alternative Uniting accommodation just to get away from it.”
When Manly Observer asked Uniting whether decades’ worth of construction is a reasonable expectation to place on the residents, they assured that they had extensive experience routinely upgrading and managing projects while minimising any inconvenience while residents continue to live onsite.
“Throughout the process, we would seek to balance the need to improve and modernise the village with our commitment to residents’ comfort, wellbeing and peaceful enjoyment of their homes,” the spokesperson added.
At one point, residents feared eviction
A notice for alterations and renovations was placed on the front door on 4 June 2026. However, residents at the Village Tower, who average around 80 years old, say it didn’t cause any alarm bells.
“Renovations are constantly happening in the building,” Raema Jenkins, a Village Tower resident, said. Her dad grew up in Manly, and when she moved into her studio ILU, she felt she’d come home.
“If someone leaves, Uniting will renovate their room before the next person comes in.”
Jennifer Wigan, another resident, added tradies were on site during the interview installing light fixtures in the hallways.
“It was about five days before one of the residents went on the Council portal to see what the notice on the front door was about,” Metherell explained.
“Panic and all hell broke loose when we realised they planned to gut the building.”
“Panic and all hell broke loose when we realised they planned to gut the building.
“It was the first anyone had heard of it. Uniting have already spent millions of dollars upgrading facilities in the building, and there’s never been any mention of this.
“We were all worried what that meant for our homes. Would they evict us?”
Many residents told us they moved to the Village Tower with the intention of staying there until the end of their days. Two buildings next to the Village Tower offer additional care and staffing as residents age and require more support.
Residents we spoke to said they’d been unable to sleep, were anxious, and deeply upset about the prospect of losing their home.
“Regretfully no formal advice of the proposed upgrades was issued prior to the Development Application being lodged, despite informal conversations having taken place in recent years between some residents and a former village manager,” the Uniting spokesperson said.
The residents we spoke to have been there long-term and had never heard of the plans. In addition, we’ve been told the current Village Manager only recently started and was also unaware of the plans.
“It is Uniting policy to engage openly and honestly with all our clients, especially residents whose homes we have carriage of, regretfully in this instance, we did not do that.”
“It is Uniting policy to engage openly and honestly with all our clients, especially residents whose homes we have carriage of, regretfully in this instance, we did not do that,” the spokesperson added.
Uniting attended a residents’ meeting on 16 June 2026, however, residents said only junior staff attended and they didn’t go into the detail of what would happen to residents should the DA get approved.
Residents reached out to Member for Manly, James Griffin, with their concerns.
“The consistent message I have heard is that residents feel there was insufficient consultation and communication before the DA was lodged,” he told us.
He raised this with Council, who said while the official notification period is closed, any submissions received up until the application is determined will be considered.
“Residents and their families deserve clear, transparent information about how any redevelopment would be managed, what support would be provided, and what the proposal means for them both during construction and in the longer term,” Griffin added.
On 24 June 2026, three weeks after the notice went up on the front door, Uniting held another meeting with residents and confirmed no residents would be forced to move out of their homes.
“There is no intention to displace any residents to facilitate the works, although some residents may choose to move to other units within the building,” the spokesperson explained.
While residents said this was a relief, many had mixed feelings.
“They said they’d do the construction as units became available, and said, if the DA gets approved, it would be about six months before works started and it would only start where two units were available that they could join into a one-bedroom,” Metherell said.
“But they said they were in no rush. It could take 10, 20, or even 30 years. How are we going to live in a building while they’re jackhammering and drilling six days a week for decades?
“I will continue to fight the DA with everything I’ve got.”
What’s next?
At last count, 31 submissions had been received which means the DA will be considered by the Northern Beaches Local Planning Panel.
As for rumours circulating the Village Tower hallways that this is just the start of plans to upgrade the whole retirement village, Uniting confirmed that there are no plans in place to redevelop the entire site.
“Uniting’s works are limited to the tower on Birkley Road,” the spokesperson said.
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