0
0
It appears Central Coast Council’s CEO David Farmer has put a stop to staff proposals to sell off even more properties than the $60 million-plus worth of assets disposed of since the end of 2020, according to documents accessed by The Point but he also needs to pull a few off the market and reassure the community that their crown jewels are not for sale.
By Jackie Pearson
Community activist Joy Cooper has spoken at almost every Central Coast Council meeting when the asset selloff has been on the agenda since November 2020.
“We were originally told there were going to be four tranches but there were five planned and the fifth included Coastal Open Space System (COSS) land,” Ms Cooper said.
COSS is the system of natural reserves set up by the former Gosford Council in the 1970s. It is unique to the region and some of the reserves have high conservation value.
Ms Cooper said she described the asset selloff program as “hastily executed and lacking in transparency”.
“Every decision the council has made to sell assets since it was placed under NSW Government administration in October 2020 appears to have been to the benefit of the purchaser more than for the benefit of the community,” she said.
“Sales have been poorly timed, with long settlement periods, for instance and many of the sales have not been done via competitive tender.”
The Point has obtained copies of email correspondence between Central Coast Council’s economic development and property team and consultants Michael Filo and Steve Rowe who were appointed by Interim Administrator Dick Persson subsequent to an ad in the Sydney Morning Herald in December 2020. Filo and Rowe had worked with Persson and Hart previously.
One theme running through the documents is the need for a substantial number of lots earmarked as appropriate for sale to be reclassified from community to operational land and/or rezoned before being sold.
Community-classified land cannot be sold under NSW local government law – it includes assets such as parks, reserves, playing fields and open public spaces. It is questionable that any land classified as community land on the Central Coast, with its growing population and lack of social infrastructure, could be considered “surplus” by its local government. In fact, when the amount of such assets on the Coast is compared with the playing fields and parks available in areas like Newcastle and Wollongong, we have an undersupply.
The released documents give the public new information about the overall strategy for the Central Coast Council’s Asset Efficiencies and Sales Project (a name used internally). Nine asset categories were considered as including land appropriate to be sold and each was given a priority of one through to four.
Priority one categories included vacant land, commercial leased council land and facilities and residential cottages. Priority two categories were land acquired for council road projects that were no longer proceeding and council depots, admin buildings and training centres. Next in line for the chopping block were community leased land and facilities including tennis courts, council-operated childcare centres, libraries and community centres, which were included as priority three along with parks, playgrounds and reserves – all clearly known to be community-classified land and valuable to local residents.
Priority four were natural areas including COSS land and natural land. A flow chart accompanying the table assigned categories and priorities across five sale tranches. Tranche five, if it were to go ahead, would potentially see the sale of COSS land and natural reserves.
“At no stage since the council was placed under administration was the public told that the asset sale program could even go as far as selling off our unique COSS lands and natural reserves,” Ms Cooper said.
The total book value of assets slated for sale, according to the documents, was $75.77 million, substantially higher than the original $40 million the public was told needed to be sold to get the council’s books back in the black after the 2020 liquidity crisis and substantially more than the $60 million book value approved for sale thus far.
The book value listed for Tranche 5 was $0 and that should put Ms Cooper’s mind at ease about the potential selloff of COSS land. It appears the council has not progressed its plans to sell off its COSS crown jewels.
Emails obtained via GIPA included correspondence from March 2021 in which members of the council’s property and development team spoke about four sale tranches, not five.
The projected sale time for the original five tranches, shown in the released documents, was up to 32 months. That would have meant Central Coast Council continuing its asset sales through to June 2023. However, Administrator Rik Hart announced last year that the council had already reached its $60 million asset sales goal.
“So why keep selling our assets?” Ms Cooper commented.
The documents reveal that Tranche 4 included some “high risk” sale propositions including the Central Coast Stadium and adjoining Gosford Bowling Club. The Point has asked Central Coast Council whether or not this proposed sale is going ahead given VenuesLive took over management of the stadium in May 2022.
The emails reveal new information about some of the most controversial and convoluted transactions included in the asset selloff.
Mann Street and Gosford Council Chamber
For instance, in July 2021, a member of Council’s economic development and property team asked Filo and Rowe to provide contact details for “some good Town Planners/Heritage Consultants who could possibly assist us in our efforts to remove the Heritage listing for the Gosford Admin Building”.
Very little information has been placed in the public domain about the building’s “brutalist architecture heritage façade listing” being an impediment to its sale or the council’s intention to find a way around that status.
A month earlier, Michael Filo had sent a list of questions back to council staff, including CEO Farmer and Administrator Hart asking a series of questions about the sale of the former Gosford Council chamber.
“Has the option of Council occupying 49 Mann St as the anchor tenant (and the corresponding sale value uplift that could be derived) been considered? What is Council’s plan for investment and economic development in Gosford, considering the directive to grow Gosford City as the Central Coast’s regional capital in accordance with the Central Coast Regional Plan 2036? Has any modelling been undertaken to determine the ramifications to local asset values; local investment and economic development, if Council was to depart Gosford? Is Council prepared with a communication plan to address the potential market perception that Council may be leaving Gosford CBD and taking 300 jobs (and corresponding services) from the local area?”
None of the documents released under GIPA include answers to those questions.
According to CEO Farmer, Central Coast Council was close to signing a contract to sell land in Mann St Gosford, including the former Gosford chamber and lots currently classified as “community”, to NSW TAFE and Landcom.
If that transaction is not completed by March 2023, then Mr Farmer plans to sell the land on the open market. However, the heritage listing of the council building, combined with the community classification of the other lots, are impediments to these transactions.
In June 2021, during a meeting attended by CEO Farmer and Administrator Rik Hart, consultants gleaned that it would take between nine and 12 months to reclassify certain lots from community to operational land.
The Point has been monitoring a planning proposal to amend the Gosford City Centre State Environmental Planning Policy as an unusual way to reclassify the community land to operational land so it can be sold. It remains at the “pre-exhibition” stage of the process, which does not bode well for a pre-March sale to the NSW Government.
“The Mann Street and council chamber transactions are poignant examples of how this asset selloff program continues to fail to protect the community’s needs or the long-term needs of the Central Coast for assets like a council chamber and a performing arts precinct in our main city centre,” Ms Cooper said.
Central Coast Stadium and Gosford Bowling Club
The Point was surprised to find these assets listed in Tranche 4 so we asked the council for more information and this is what we were told:
“There are no current plans to sell either the Central Coast Stadium site or the adjoining Gosford City Bowling Club site. Council has entered into a management agreement with VenuesLive to operate the stadium, which is located on Council-owned community land.
“This site cannot be sold unless the land is reclassified to operational land, which would need to be approved by the NSW Government. There is no current plan either to seek a reclassification of the land on which the stadium sits, or to consider options for sale of the land were it to be reclassified at some future time.
“Council has resolved to reclassify the Gosford City Bowling Club site to operational land to allow it to be used for a wider range of purposes that support revitalisation of the Gosford waterfront. This reclassification will only proceed if it receives support and approval from the NSW Government. The long-term ownership of the Bowling Club site as part of the waterfront revitalisation has not yet been determined.”
Wyong Golf Club
An “unsolicited offer” was received from Wyong Golf Club to purchase community-classified land, which cannot be sold under the NSW Local Government Act. The land adjoining the clubhouse on Wyong Road would be used to develop a substantial ‘senior’s living’ development, however, this transaction could not go ahead until there was a planning proposal to reclassify the land from community to operational.
A report not previously released to the public by council indicates that the cost of the planning proposal would be between $20,000 and $30,000 and that Central Coast Council would enter a deed “with the club in order for council to undertake these works which are paid for by the club. The deed would establish that the club provide these funds, that council undertake the works, however no guarantees or warranties are provided by council on the land reclassification or permissibility of the proposed development”.
“This is another unusual arrangement,” according to former licensed real estate agent, Joy Cooper. “If this was really a sale that was in the public interest then why wouldn’t Central Coast Council follow the Local Government Act properly, reclassify the land to operational and then sell it for the best possible price via a competitive tender or auction?”
A desktop review of this land, apparently prepared by Filo and Rowe, reveals that it is currently zoned RE1 for public recreation that does not permit its use for residential development. However, Filo and Rowe advise that it could be sold under the State Environmental Planning Policy (Housing for Seniors and People with a Disability 2004), with suitable “justification” complicated by the fact it is near a registered club.
Austin Butler Acc, Woy Woy
The community does not want this stand of paperbark trees to be sold to the adjoining Peninsula Plaza to expand its Woy Woy customer carpark. Administrator Rik Hart has concluded that the sale of this one will require further community consultation.
It appears senior managers at Central Coast Council have been keen to offload this land for some time. A staff comment uncovered through GIPA reads: “Can not legal[ly] sell. Info was provided multiple times to Mike Dowling.
“May be better to expand Active Open Space activity in the area around the ovals…small area of Coastal Swamp Oak EEC located…”
Mike Dowling was formerly a director of Wyong Shire Council and then Central Coast Council.
The property has a very low book value of $125,000 and there would be a $30,000 cost to reclassify it to operational land to make way for its sale.
It is currently classified as community land, so would need to be reclassified before it could be sold and it is also zoned RE1 Public Recreation so it would need to also go through a rezoning process before it could be redeveloped.
More revelations to come
In response to questions about the Wyong Golf Club and Austin Butler sales, Council issued the following statement:
“Council has resolved to negotiate directly with the Wyong Golf Club and Peninsula Plaza in relation to the potential sale of parcels that adjoin their existing holdings. The resolution requires these landowners to cover the costs of reclassification, which is reasonable to ensure that the community does not bear the expense. Reclassification would take place prior to any sale, with the costs of reclassification, along with the sale transaction costs, included in the sale price.
“Council has been explicit in its negotiations with each of the prospective purchasers that sale of the land is conditional on NSW Government approving the reclassification of the land. Council will not enter into any contract of sale for either of these properties unless and until the proposed reclassification is approved by the NSW Government,” the statement said.
The released documents also shed light on other transactions, including the Spring Creek Business Park sale and Doyalson and the sale of 1 Bounty Close, Tuggerah. The Point will report on those issues in the weeks to come.
Meanwhile, Central Coast Council has confirmed in a statement that each of the parcels of land include in Tranche 4 is classified as community land under Section 26 of the Local Government Act 1993.
“The status of the land must be reclassified from community land to operational land in order for it to be offered for sale,” the statement said. “This process requires community consultation and the approval of the NSW Government. The bulk reclassification proposal is underway and is expected to be in the public domain in the second half of 2023.”
In response to our question about when Central Coast Council’s asset sales program would conclude, we were told:
“Tranche 4 is the final group of parcels of land that were identified as being surplus to council’s requirements as part of the asset sales program, which was instigated to improve council’s financial sustainability.
“Council has an ongoing program of reviewing its land and property holdings to ensure that these are being effectively used. Where land and property assets are identified as surplus to council’s current and future requirements, they may be considered for disposal. Sale of surplus land and property assets generates income that can be reinvested into community services and into new land and property assets that may be required, for example, in areas of growth.
“Any further parcels of land identified through this ongoing review process would require a council resolution before they were released to the market. Only land which is owned by council and classified as operational land can be sold. Land which is managed by council but owned by the NSW Government (Crown reserve land) and land which is classified as community land cannot be sold.”
If you’re interested in keeping up to date with the asste sales situation there’s a stop the selloff facebook page. A petition has been signed by over 1000 people to stop the reclassification and sale of the Austin Butler Acc in Woy Woy, for example. Private message the stop the selloff page for details if you’d like to add your signature.
Enjoy this article? Explore more of our ESG News below:
Environmental Justice News | Social Justice News | Good Governance News | Climate Change News | ESG Investing News | Housing News | Renewable Energy News | Breaking Central Coast News
Prefer your news delivered to your email inbox?
Click here to subscribe to our free weekly newsletter to stay up-to-date with local, national and global ESG news.
