Coordinator General of the Central Coast, Ms Lee Shearer, has given an in-depth explanation of some of the finer points of the new planning controls proposed for Gosford CBD in the latest Central Coast Newspapers Video News interview.
Ms Shearer said the Government Architect will look at the feedback provided by the community and other stakeholders on the three place-based reports and general recommendations. “All of those will be consolidated and a final blueprint will be delivered within about four weeks, and the same process will happen around the planning controls,” she said. Ms Shearer explained that the Urban Design Implementation Framework for the Gosford CBD deliberately set aside the waterfront. “The older reports talked about the need to create the city first because the waterfront can draw people away from creating the city,” she said.
“I want people to understand that there is a methodology in it, it is about building this great city for people, for jobs and permanent residents. “The waterfront is more about being able to attract people but not to live there, to play there.” Building height has always been a bone of contention in the Gosford CBD and Ms Shearer confirmed that under the proposed State Environmental Planning Policy (SEPP) there would not be a set building height for developers on large sites who wanted to go outside the existing Central Coast Council height and floor space controls. “It is almost a three-step process. “If you want to exceed the council decreed height or FSR for the site, you have to go through a design excellence process. “If you are on the very large sites and you want to achieve greater than either the building height or FSR, you have to go through a design competition,” she said.
Source: Video Interview with Jackie Pearson