Businesses with entertainment offerings are “at war with the couch” says the 24-Hour Economy Commissioner Michael Rodrigues.
With Netflix, Uber Eats, Eat@home and movies on demand, the temptation for people is to stay in and have a good time, Rodrigues said in Gosford last week.
He was speaking at the Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA) Central Coast event on Thursday, June 5.
Rodrigues offered insights into the state’s 24-Hour Economy Strategy that could assist Central Coast Council to unlock the potential of Gosford which is earmarked to become a Special Entertainment Precinct (SEP) for the Night Time Economy (NTE).
State Government SEP legislation allows Council to set noise conditions and trading hours for an area, a streetscape or a single venue to encourage live music performance and support vibrant going-out precincts.
Gosford could apply for a Purple Flag – an international accreditation program for excellence in managing the night-time economy which has been rolled out in more than 90 locations in the UK, Ireland, Sweden, New Zealand and Australia.
Criteria includes ready public transport access, adequate street lighting, safety and entertainment.
A Purple Flag sticker means an area meets standards of excellence in vibrancy, diversity and safety at night.
Earlier, Councillor John McNamara had explained the workings of Council’s Economic Development Committee which had its first meeting in February.
Since then it has worked on a number of strategies, including a night-time economy action plan 2025-2027, due to be adopted by the full Council soon.
Council, while under administration in April last year, adopted the Central Coast Night-Time Economy Discussion Paper which contained 44 actions.
Since then, progress has been made on a number of actions, including the delivery of night-time live music micro-festival events in 2024.
Writing the required documents for Gosford to become a SEP is expected to start later this year.
The action plan includes: trialling an extended business hour policy for SEPs; trialling automatic outdoor dining permit approvals for SEPs; and proactively engaging the Gosford Business Chamber, landowners and creative businesses to encourage them to activate Gosford’s empty shopfronts.
But a city night-time shuttle bus is no longer in the plan.
“This action was trialled and was not successful,” Action 38 of the plan says.
“No further action is to be taken.”
Between April 2022 and March 2023, total expenditure on dining and entertainment at night (between 6pm and 6am) was almost $230M on the Coast.
“Terrigal attracted the highest proportion of visitor spend (29.3%), reflecting the concentration of restaurants and bars in the town, and its role as a popular tourist destination,” the 2024 discussion paper noted.
Regarding Gosford, it said there was little activation around Central Coast Stadium and that the “urban character of Gosford doesn’t align with the Central Coast brand”.
It had lost retail market share following the opening of Erina Fair, which offers night-time economy products and experiences.
“Night-time product and experience in Gosford needs to meet the quality expectations of recent migrants from Sydney, as well as the future healthcare workforce and university student base,” the paper said.
Last week’s UDIA event also explored how Council could leverage state and federal government initiatives including infrastructure funding, planning reforms, and precinct development programs – to turbocharge the Central Coast’s growth potential and ensure it could compete effectively.
McNamara said development application data showed 780 outstanding with 129 more than 12 months old, with 38 in the Land and Environment Court, but also that development approved was worth $583M year-to-date.
UDIA NSW CEO Stuart Ayres said he looked forward to hearing how Council, the State Government and industry could work in partnership to activate key precincts and unlock opportunities for private and public sector investment.
“We are committed to working collaboratively with Central Coast Council and its leadership to streamline and improve the development application processes for developments,” Ayres said.
“We are encouraged that Council is looking at ways to reduce assessment times and free up limited Council resources to focus on more complex developments – those which can deliver greater long-term value to the community.
“With a new Council, fresh leadership, and a willingness to work with industry, there are clear pathways to bring productive ideas to the table and support a more streamlined, future-focused development framework for the Central Coast.”
Merilyn Vale
I’m pretty sure there was supposed to be a entertainment precinct on the old ‘Gosford Public School’ site.
I wonder what happened to that…? :/
It’s all well and good to fantasise about an active Gosford nightlife but given the amount of residential units being built there seems to be a complete lack of actual planning happening. The current two venues are causing issues with residents given the open air nature of those venues. There is therefore a need for actual impact assessments and suitability of venues for compliance within residential enclaves.