The two year battle over Sydney Harbour’s Middle Head ex army base becoming an aged care facility will be decided in the next 14 days.

Federal Environmental Minister, Greg Hunt, will rule if the Peploe family from Perth can have a 25 year lease to develop an 89 bed care facility, a proposal strongly objected to by the local Mosman Council, the National Trust and the Headland Preservation Group.

In fact there has been virtually no supporter of the proposal except for the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust which is the guardian of the site. The CEO, Geoff Bailey, says he is sympathetic to the proposal and that “the elderly would benefit from the soothing quality of the natural setting”.

Teelia Peploe (photographed) this is the principal of Middle Head Healthcare (MHHC) who has made the submission on behalf of the family business in Perth, Continuing Health Care. Led by her mother, Rhonda, they are behind St Louis Estate in Fairmont.

Mosman Council, and Mosman residents, have reputations for being the most aggressive in Sydney. It will be a remarkable feat if the Peploe family can win the day.