More work is needed on a planning proposal to rezone the Red Bus depot site at Bateau Bay for a housing subdivision before it goes to the NSW Minister for Planning for a Gateway Determination.
Central Coast Council sought advice from the Local Planning Panel prior to presentation of the proposal expected at Council’s October 11 meeting, but now delayed.
The proposal is to rezone the bus depot site at 682a Coleridge Rd, Bateau Bay from SP2 Infrastructure to R1 General Residential and amend the Central Coast Local Environmental Plan to apply a minimum lot size of 450sqm for a future 35 house blocks, but still allowing the bus company to continue operating until the 5.261ha site is developed for housing.
The Local Planning Panel says there are several matters to address before the planning proposal goes forward.
It says Council should identify development capacity of the site under the proposed R1 zoning and applicable development standards including lot size, floor space ratio and building height.
Also, Council should complete a traffic impact assessment, contamination report, flooding assessment constraints, biodiversity conservation assessment and a flora and fauna study.
Other recommendations from the Panel are to prepare and develop a site-specific development control plan to identify any constraints in the above-mentioned studies and the measures to address them, as well as sourcing suitable funding for infrastructure and services.
All these matters should be addressed prior to the final plan being made, the Panel advised.
A Council report says that the proposal aligns with the direction of the regionally significant Karagi growth area (in the Central Coast Regional Plan 2041) for urban activation, future rapid transport bus routes, harnessing of green infrastructure for residential use and the expansion of housing stock alongside neighbourhood centres.
A public reserve access track to Council’s water reservoir along the eastern boundary will be retained as well as the dam and four hollow-bearing trees, while the Swift Parrot habitat areas along the north-eastern and eastern boundaries will be restricted and conserved as a buffer to Wyrrabalong National Park.
The proposal by The Entrance Red Bus Services Pty Ltd is a plan to future-proof its business.
The bus company has been operating between Gosford, Wyong, The Entrance since 1923 and holds a contract with Transport for NSW until June 2024.
For the first time, Red Bus will be forced to compete in an open tender process for contract renewal which they believe raises the likelihood of a large foreign-owned multinational company taking over, as has happened across Sydney and Newcastle.
Red Bus has occupied the Bateau Bay site since 1981 and will continue local bus services, however, should their contract with Transport for NSW not be renewed, rezoning of the site enables alternative development options.
Sue Murray