Central Coast Councillor Bruce McLachlan is sick of Gosford “being stuck in the 1950s” and wants to see a marina, restaurant, carparking and fast ferry terminal built on Council owned waterfront land, immediately south of Central Coast Stadium.
Cr McLachlan will bring a motion to the March 9 meeting, calling for Council to acknowledge the lack of over-water recreational entertainment facilities on the Gosford waterfront and calling for a report on available opportunities to activate the area, including a review of the previous Masterplan and fast ferry terminal opportunities.
“This is not the first time I have brought this matter up,” Cr McLachlan said.
“I called for a briefing late last year.
“We have more than $2M worth of plans sitting in a drawer
“Gosford is the first waterfront city north of Sydney, yet there is no waterfront amenity.
“This is a very real market we are overlooking.
“There is a parcel of land owned by Council on the waterfront and we are sitting on that asset doing nothing.
“Other councils are moving forward on their waterfront amenities – why can’t we?”
Cr McLachlan said that with the medical precinct going ahead at Gosford Hospital and a State Government revamp of Leagues Club Park underway, the time was right for action.
“There is an opportunity there to create a visual transformation of the waterfront,” he said.
“Imagine driving over the Brian McGowan bridge and seeing a small entertainment precinct.
“We could have a marina, more carparking, a restaurant and a fast ferry terminal.
“We had a ferry service to Sydney in the 1800s and it’s time that we had one again.
“The whole bay can be transformed and it doesn’t have to be a huge development.
“With all the other development going on in Gosford, we finally have momentum and it’s important not to lose that.
“It is time for a comprehensive Masterplan to pull the entire area together.
“All it takes is for Council to ask for expressions of interest in a private/public partnership to develop that land at no cost to ratepayers.
“It is archaic thinking that we can’t have any sort of private partnership for developing public lands as other councils have done it successfully.”
Cr McLachlan said it was time to stop looking for problems and instead look for solutions.
Source:
Agenda item 6.4
Central Coast Council meeting, Mar 9
Interview, Mar 4
Central Coast Councillor Bruce McLachlan
Reporter: Terry Collins