I read the articles about the Gosford Waterside project with great consternation (Coast Community News, 23 Sep p1to 3).
The desire of Gosford Council to build three high rise towers reminds me of Gold Coast development’ 1950s style.
The proposal exceeds the height limits agreed to in the Gosford Local Environment Plan by 64.5 per cent, 210.2 per cent and 160.2 per cent, according Ms Jane Smith of CEN.
What is happening here? My wife and I visited Berlin and Paris a few years back and we were struck by the very moderate heights of apartment and office buildings in these cities.
Most were 10 to 12 floors high. The commercial centres were thriving, traffic flowed freely and there was a lot of public park space around.
Berlin was particularly interesting because 70 per cent of it was destroyed in 1945. Basically all new buildings are of moderate heights. Redevelopment has not meant excessive high-rise there, very much to the contrary.
Steps to redevelop the Gosford CBD, both ‘core’ and ‘broad’, naturally, are welcome, and improvements are happening, but high rise towers are not environmentally responsible developments.
Central Coast citizens deserve better. CEN’s several arguments against this proposal make perfect sense.
Letter, Sep 25, 2015
Klaas Woldring,
Pearl Beach