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UNITS in Australia’s first gay and lesbian retirement village are now slated to be available for sale in two months, developer Peter Dickson has confirmed. The 120-unit Ballan complex for over 55s is billed as a haven for the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer community (GLBTIQ).Mr Dickson said potential residents of the $30 million Linton Estate could buy off the plan by the end of October, with building to start early next year.“We have had an expression of interest from 226 people from across the world including Turkey, England and the United States,” Mr Dickson said. “In Australia, we had queries from Queensland, New South Wales as well as Victoria.”Mr Dickson said there had been some interest from people in nearby Daylesford, which has a sizable GLBTIQ population. The village, at the junction of Old Melbourne and Ballan-Geelong roads, will be built in five stages and include an indoor heated spa, bar and croquet lawn. Moorabool Shire Council granted a planning permit for Linton Estate in 2008, but a project redesign has delayed construction.Mr Dickson said they had hired an engineer and were now meeting with potential builders. Moorabool Shire Council mayor Pat Griffin said the council was looking forward to the development going ahead. “It is really exciting news,” he said. “We are really pleased and hope to see it come off quickly.”Gay and Lesbian Health Victoria research fellow Dr Catherine Barrett said typical retirement homes didn’t understand or value issues relating to sexual identity. “Older GLBTIQ people have the right to have choices and at the moment they don’t,” Dr Barrett said.

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