We, the members of Mannering Park Progress, wish to express our deep resentment with regard to the unacceptable, and ongoing, expenditure on Central Coast Airport at Warnervale.
Central Coast councillors have adopted the plan for this white elephant which is losing ratepayers year-on-year more than $150,000 and, in addition, Central Coast Council has committed $625,000 dedicated to upgrade the airport over the next two years.
Meanwhile we, the ratepayers, watch our roads disintegrate before our eyes and now spend our time driving on joined-up potholes to our destinations around the Coast.
Anything we, the community, ask for that would help thousands of people over time, like a public toilet in our shopping strip, is denied, often because of the ongoing costs.
Apparently, this same logic doesn’t apply to the airport.
The Federal Government has further diminished Council’s grant funding so Council is being asked to do more with less, yet it still finds the money for this funding sinkhole.
Why?
We know there is a gulf between what Council is able to deliver and community expectations but to fund an entity which cannot make a good business case, and certainly wouldn’t stand up to any fiscal scrutiny, is unacceptable.
The airport may, in 40 years’ time, turn a profit, who can believe that?
So, ratepayers continue to pour good money after bad into the project for an elite few.
If the Warnervale airport can be justified because it delivers medical evacuations and a rescue service along with small aircraft pilot training then let the NSW State Government and users of the airport pay for it in full.
Let’s get Council back to its core business of roads, rates and rubbish while reversing the cost-shifting of the NSW Government for once.
Email, Sept 7
Kelvin Wynn, President
Mannering Park Progress
So, an honest question: has a full-detail economic study been done for this? Because by the Council Masterplan, it sounds like it could turn a profit in the next 3 years, not 40. I’m hardly an aviation expert, but at face value it seems like a profitable project.
From page 31 (printed) of the 2025 Masterplan:
“To assess the potential of Central Coast Airport as a relocation option for aviation businesses, Colliers conducted a market sounding process. The findings from this process suggested that the Airport could generate an estimated 184 new aviation-related jobs, with a potential total investment value of $33.7 million from all respondents. Many of the organisations involved in the market sounding expressed the ability to relocate to the Airport within a short-term timeframe, ranging from 9 months to 3 years”
“The market sounding also revealed significant opportunities to address the limitations of existing aviation facilities in the region. Several potential tenants currently operate at congested airports, such as Bankstown, Cessnock, and Maitland, where they face challenges like limited hangar space and operational restrictions. The anticipated opening of Western Sydney Airport (WSI) in 2026 is expected to exacerbate these concerns, as businesses foresee a surge in aviation activity that will strain existing resources.”
These anti airport protesters are almost like flat earth people. How many are affected by noise or lost property values? This is the true reason probably. I would be to if affected me. Next time there is an emergency and flying is only way and it saves lives, will they admit maybe aircraft do have some benefits.
the argument put forward by mannering park could also be applied to children’s playground and parkland areas. think about it and put your energy into something positive.