Friends of the Performing Arts Precinct (FOPAP) have officially resolved at a special meeting on March 16, that the vacant former Gosford Public School site is the preferred location for a Regional Performing Arts Precinct.
“As FOPAP has always said, the placement of a Regional Performing Arts Precinct on this site would be a welcome gateway for visitors to the Central Coast, highlighting the importance of art and culture to our community,” said president of the Friends of the Performing Arts Precinct, Mr Mark Thomas. “FOPAP will swing its considerable support behind other community groups so that there will be a unified voice in expressing the community’s desire for this valuable piece of public land to be utilised for a long awaited community facility,” Mr Thomas said. How we got to this point – Timeline 2001 – 2016 The future of the Gosford waterfront has been the subject of debate and contention since 2001.
That was when Spurbest acquired the “Froggy’s” site in Mann St and proposed a major development. In 2003, the NSW Government appointed an independent planner, Mr John McInerney to oversee the CBD redevelopment and come up with a masterplan for the precinct. His plan focused on attracting more residential development and capped building heights at 10 storeys. It still allowed the $50 million Spurbest towers and the $60 million Central Coast Leagues Club redevelopment to go ahead. Landcom proposed the Gosford Hospital City Link project under the plan. In March 2004, the McInerney plan was submitted to the NSW Government.
The following year (2005), Gosford Council embarked on an ambitious community engagement program called Vision 2025. That September, a scaled-down Spurbest plan was approved and in October 2005 Gosford Council approved a $60 million motel development next to the Central Coast Leagues Club. McInerney’s plan for the city was given state government approval in 2005. Everything changed in 2006 when the City Link project was shelved (June) and then planning minister, Mr Frank Sartor announced a special taskforce for regional cities that included a new Local Environmental Plan, Development Control Plan and City Centre Plan (July). That same month (July 2006) Spurbest put the Froggy’s site up for sale. In November 2006, the NSW Government launched Gosford Council’s city centre plan and the City Link project was put back on the agenda in November 2007. In December 2007, the citywide local environmental plan was approved, along with the Gosford city centre development control plan.
A civic improvement plan, including plans for an overhaul of the waterfront, was sent to the planning minister for approval. The Gosford Challenge was launched in 2008 as a joint initiative of Gosford Council and the Land and Property Management Authority to produce another new masterplan for the city. In October 2009, a Design Charrette, a six-day intensive and collaborative design process with 130 community representatives working with professional designers was held. A ‘charrette’ is a public meeting or workshop devoted to a concerted effort to solve a problem or plan the design of something; a period of intense work, typically undertaken in order to meet a deadline.
The intent of the October 2009 gathering was to come up with design solutions to complex urban circumstances that were to underpin the key design strategies for the masterplan. The Our City, Our Destiny Masterplan was published that year. The public exhibition period for the resulting Draft Gosford Local Environmental Plan and Development Control Plan closed in May 2010. In August 2010, the Masterplan was launched and responsibility for its implementation was officially handed to the Central Coast Regional Development Corporation (CCRDC). The CCRDC’s Gosford Waterfront State Signifi cant Site study was put on public exhibition in November 2011. It garnered 657 submissions, seven offering support, two offering partial support and the others opposed to the vision for the waterfront.
The main issues raised in those public submissions were the loss of public land and the desire for a Performing Arts Precinct to be located on the Gosford waterfront. The following year, 2012, was the year of the Gosford Landing: a proposed joint venture between the CCRDC and Lend Lease that included moving the public swimming pool and building finger wharves. The proposal was scrapped after a huge public outcry.
The CCRDC lodged a revised submission to amend planning controls for part of the Gosford CBD with the Department of Planning in March 2013. Meanwhile, a design competition for a regional performing arts centre was held in August 2013. In February 2014, the Department of Planning declared the waterfront precinct as a state signifi cant site and approved rezoning to allow a mix of residential, commercial, retail, and recreational uses. The proposal was said to have the potential to deliver 200 new residential dwellings and create 2,000 new jobs. In March 2014 the Gosford Waterfront Development Control Plan 2014 was released and in April the Gosford Public School relocated, and demolition commenced on the old school site in August. May 2014 was the first mention of the creation of 600 new jobs for Gosford via the relocation of the Australian Taxation Office.
In October, the Federal Government called for an expression of interest to provide a commercial office premises for the ATO. At around the same time, Government Property NSW invited expressions of interest in purchasing 20 Mann St Gosford (the school site).. The NSW Expression of Interest closed on November 18, 2014 but the names of those called to tender were not made public. In August 2015, Government Property NSW announced it was disposing of the Gosford School site because it was surplus to needs and tenders were invited from pre-qualifi ed organisations only (those on the EOI short list).
On September 25, 2015 Ms Lucy Wicks, with federal treasurer, Mr Scott Morrison, announced that the ATO would be located on part of the former Gosford Public School site and on October 2, the NSW government announced it had sold the site to Doma Group, which was entering an agreement with the ATO to deliver the federal building. Physical work is expected to commence on the Doma-ATO in 2016. Coast Community News (CCN) asked Government Property NSW to confirm its plans for the remainder of the land on the former Gosford Public School site. The NSW Department of Finance media unit sent the following response: Doma Group purchased approximately 27 per cent of the former Gosford Public School site.
“Approximately 73 per cent of the site is available for additional redevelopment in accordance with the zoning and planning controls,” the statement said. “Government Property NSW is reviewing options for the remaining portion of the Mann St site,” the statement said. Government Property NSW advised that questions relating to the location of the performing arts centre should be directed to Gosford Council. CCN also asked why a portion of the land was sold to Doma for only $788 per square metre when other CBD land has been sold to developers for $1200 per square metre through to $1700 in the same year. Government Property NSW responded: “The sale result refl ects market value following a competitive expression of interest and tender process”.
Media release, Mar 21, 2016 Mark Thomas, Friends of the Performing Arts Precinct Timeline, 2001-2016 No Tax on Gosford Waterfront group Media statement, Mar 22, 2016 NSW Department of Finance media unit Jackie Pearson, journalist