Central Coast Council says most of the community wants it to power ahead with its concept plan for the revitalisation of the Gosford waterfront precinct, despite major concerns raised by environmental groups.
Council says the community showed “resounding support” for the plan during the consultation period, which ended on December 1, and it will now set about trying to secure government funding to progress the project.
Thousands of community members right across the region gave feedback and made suggestions with a high-level summary of the engagement presented to the December 13 meeting.
CEO David Farmer said it was clear the community wanted Council to keep moving ahead with the project.
“Over the last six weeks our engagement activities have enabled people to view the proposed concept plan on-line and in person at drop-in sessions,” he said.
“Feedback has been positive, with some terrific suggestions and ideas to further evolve and improve the concept plan.”
Farmer said there was an 81.5 per cent favourable response through various opt-in channels.
“The statistically valid market research indicated an even higher approval rating of 93 per cent support which demonstrates a clear message that the community supports the Gosford Waterfront Concept Plan and wants the project to proceed,” he said.
“It is heartening to see the enthusiastic participation and, as expected, with any city changing, there is also some hesitation about balancing the use of community assets with any private sector involvement in the development.
“We will now take this rich data and feed it into the next part of the project, which is to start the master planning process and developing the next stage of design detail to enable a NSW Government investment decision.
“Having a mix of entertainment, shopping, dining, maritime services, tourism, residential living, recreation and a significant increase in public spaces is key in creating the revitalised waterfront.”
He said suggestions which needed to be taken into account in informing a more detailed design included establishing a connection between the railway station and the foreshore and ferry terminal; opening up the pool building and the park adjacent; moving the wharf fingers to cut back on impeding water views from the stadium; and providing more walkways, perhaps including a series of arching overpasses incorporating gardens.
Administrator Rik Hart said revitalisation of Gosford waterfront is the catalyst to unlock the region’s future economic growth potential.
“A revitalised Gosford waterfront will connect the CBD to the water to unlock the economic and cultural potential of the city and the region, supporting higher order jobs, first class healthcare and education for the region,” he said.
“Council is laying the foundations for the revitalisation of Gosford waterfront, but we are advocating for the NSW Government to deliver the project.
“Other cities in the Greater Cities Commission Six Cities Region have received funding and support to realise their potential and now it’s our turn.”
Farmer said the next step was to secure State Government funding to progress the project.
“Council is seeking a commitment from both major parties to fund delivery of the Concept Plan for Gosford waterfront, commencing with an $8.5M contribution to conduct the next stage of work, which is to develop a waterfront masterplan and complete a feasibility analysis and business case,” he said.
Mark Ellis from the Central Coast Branch of Australian Conservation Foundation addressed the public forum prior to the meeting and said for all the statistics offered in the engagement summary and the market survey, 61 per cent of respondents were unaware of the development and only 43 per cent of the 600 survey respondents supported the plan.
“How many of those respondents were from the 360,000 residents of the Central Coast LGA?” he said.
“Within the market survey, the top three concerns were environmental impact/waterways, pollution and traffic congestion.
“So why are we just focussing on economics and development at the cost of this open space’s environment and natural amenities?”
Ellis said the development would impact the estuary and the protected seagrass beds.
“Liveability is based on the principle of sustainability and sensitivity to nature and the protection of its resource to help mitigate or reverse climate change risks and impacts,” he said.
“Building a giant concrete overpass is not sustainable and will not increase the connection to the waterfront.
“How about making the area a pedestrian-friendly mall … which aligns with the state government’s active transport strategy and shared spaces program?”
He said attention had not been paid to predicted sea level rises and expressed doubts that redeveloping the waterfront would activate the CBD.
Both the Community Environment Network (CEN) and the Gosford Waterfront Alliance (GWA) lodged lengthy submissions, calling for an extended consultation and submission period.
CEN said the Gosford city centre is “a wreckage of its former self … depressed and depressing”.
It said the plan was premature and urged Council to concentrate instead on completing the economic and social revitalisation of the Gosford city centre.
It said the plan fails to tackle: waterfront environmental protection; adaptation for sea level rise; traffic management; social infrastructure; and adequate connectivity between the city centre and the waterfront.
In its submission, GWA reinforced many of the points made by CEN.
“It beggars belief that any reasonable person would consider placing unit blocks on the Gosford Waterfront would revitalise the CBD,” the submission said.
“There is no evidence that the Gosford waterfront proposal will, in turn, fix the stagnation in the city proper.”
The group also called for: public exhibition of all three options for the waterfront redevelopment; more information to be made public on zoning changes which would be needed to make way for the work; the inclusion of a community group comprising residents from Gosford and surrounding suburbs to be included in consultations; and detailed traffic and pedestrian flow studies.
Terry Collins
In the last 30 years I have heard so many ‘grand plans’ for Gosford. In the last 5-10 years some progress has been made, but nothing near the CBD with as much potential for evolutionary change as this. Please lets get this moving, even if it’s phase by phase.