The Liberal and Team Central Coast councillors voted down an idea from Councillor Jane Smith to engage with Gosford West Ward residents as a pilot project to encourage active participation in local strategic planning.
Smith asked that Council support a pilot community workshop in Gosford West Ward to encourage active community participation in the development of the Local Strategic Planning Statement (LSPS) for that Ward area in line with Council’s adopted Community Engagement Strategy.
She noted that it could be a model that could be applied in the other four Ward areas.
In March 2018, amendments to the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act introduced new requirements for councils to prepare and make local strategic planning statements.
LSPS set out the 20-year vision for land use in an area, the special characteristics which contribute to local identity, shared community values to be maintained and enhanced and how growth and change will be managed into the future.
Through the LSPS, councils will show how their vision gives effect to the regional or district plan, based on local characteristics and opportunities, and the council’s own priorities.
Council adopted an interim LSPS in June 2020 with the intention that further work would be undertaken.
“This Motion seeks to ensure that the community is involved with the further development of the LSPS, in keeping with a place-based engagement and collaboration approach as identified in Council’s adopted Community Engagement Strategy,” Smith said.
In response, the CEO David Farmer explained the process and basically concluded the Council could not hold workshops and still get a draft finalised by the end of the calendar year as proposed by the Environment and Planning Committee.
Staff would aim to have the draft document completed and endorsed by the Environment and Planning Committee by December 2025 to allow for public exhibition in February 2026, with the draft Strategic Planning Statement finalised by June 2026, he said.
The councillors who voted against the pilot project were Mayor Lawrie McKinna, John Mouland, Kyra Daniels, Doug Eaton, Rachel Stanton, Trent McWaide, Jared Wright and John McNamara.
Typical of the Liberal/Team Central Coast lot. You watch them, month after month vote down every good idea that comes from the Labor team and Independents. It’s quite frustrating because you can see the merit in these ideas, especially from Councillor Lamont who is prolific in her idea and speeches. I hope the people who, like me, voted for a liberal candidate in the elections last year, will be changing my vote next time.