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Central Coast Council staff, determined to demolish the old Gosford library building, have suppressed the release of information that proves the building’s heritage value, suitability for re-use and confirms it should have been heritage listed 10 years ago.
By Jacquelene Pearson
Documents released after a protracted Government Information Public Access (GIPA) process reveal facts about the soon-to-be vacated library building in Kibble Park that support its retention for adaptive reuse and weaken arguments for its demolition.
The documents reveal the building should have been heritage listed in 2016, but senior Gosford City Council staff removed it from their heritage inventory without ever explaining why. Rather than correct this error, the former Administrator ordered its demolition.
More recent correspondence between Central Coast Council’s heritage experts and others highlights the historical significance of the building, its architecture importance and aesthetic, creative and technical value.
If not for the tenacity of local historian, Merril Jackson OAM, none of this correspondence would be public. It was not released until after the recent public consultation period over the building’s future. Council’s handling of the GIPA has been chastised by the Information and Privacy Commissioner, resulting in a peer review and a sincere apology.
GIPA battle
Ms Jackson lodged her GIPA application on 16 May 2024 and has just started receiving documents in recent weeks. The historian has a good grasp of the reports a council should keep to fulfil its statutory obligations to protect local heritage.
The application requested heritage reports, inspection reports, and expenditure on the building. Council asked for multiple extensions to make its decision about releasing the information. In July 2024 the council said it had failed to reach a decision within the time required by the GIPA Act so the outcome was a “deemed refusal”.
Council said it was still waiting for information from some business areas and would provide a decision by 31 July 2024. By January 2025, Ms Jackson had tired of sending the council reminders to ascertain the decision and not receiving replies.
She referred the matter to the Information and Privacy Commissioner (IPC). The IPC’s Senior Regulatory Officer said, “I am satisfied that council did not meet their obligations under the GIPA Act.
“… the issues raised by your complaint are justified in full,” the IPC officer said.
Central Coast Council was sent a copy of the IPC’s findings. On 7 April it asked Ms Jackson to narrow the scope of her application, which she did.
On 8 May 2025, council made its determination. Of the 29 documents found to match the GIPA request, council decided to withhold 27 and release only two.
“Heritage documents are public documents. They are not to be secreted and releasing them to the public should not be a big deal,” Ms Jackson said.
Reasons for refusal
According to the GIPA notice of decision, more than 340 documents were uncovered but only 29 ended up being “in the scope”.
According to council’s governance manager, the decision to withhold 27 documents was based on an “overriding public interest against disclosure”.
The decision notice found “no conclusive presumption of an overriding public interest against disclosure” but went on to argue that it was against the public interest to release most of the information.
Some documents included “opinions, advice or recommendations given by staff in relation to the proposed heritage listing of the current Gosford Library”, as such it could “prejudice” council’s decision making about the building’s future.
Confused as to why the council would withhold public heritage documents from release, Jackson went back to the IPC. “To ensure ‘prejudice’ is not involved in an agency’s decision-making is the very reason the public make GIPA applications,” she said.
“Releasing such information is consistent with the IPC principles to inform community, foster public trust, facilitate informed debate and to ensure government agencies are held accountable for their actions and decision making.”
Peer review
In November 2024, the first elected councillors on the Central Coast since 2020 resolved to set up a Review Panel to examine the Administrator’s decision to demolish the library building.
Between 14 May 2025 and 11 June 2025, council asked the community for feedback on the future of the old library.
On Friday 27 June, Ms Jackson received an email from a governance consultant within the council that said council had been asked to provide information to the IPC as part of its second review of the GIPA.
“I became aware that there was additional information that did fall within the scope of your application, and which was not identified at the time and for this council truly apologises,” the consultant said.
“The determination of your application became the subject of a peer review of the process that led to the decision not to release certain information.
“It became evident … that documents not released could have and perhaps should have been made available to you despite a case being provided to not release such documents. I have now attached a significant number of documents that I believe fall within the scope of your original GIPA application…”
The peer review indicated that the original GIPA decision was wrong. Most of the documents requested by Ms Jackson should have been released and in a much timelier manner.
The consultant said Ms Jackson would have another opportunity to present her case to the council and that staff would provide the latest information to councillors to help them make an informed decision.
The consultant did not say councillors would be given the released documents to read.
Council’s GIPA Disclosure Log, which is required to publish details of information released under the GIPA Act, has not been updated since May 2025 to include them.
Developer’s playground?
The released documents show that in early 2016, the library building was “identified as a heritage item”. This was around the time Gosford City Council was negotiating with Lederer Group to purchase and redevelop the ‘Kibbleplex’ or former Marketplace shopping centre on the other side of Henry Parry Drive from Kibble Park.
As part of the deal Lederer was given the opportunity to redevelop Kibble Park.
This was described as a community benefit but was an offering of public green space to a private developer to service their proposed development on the Kibbleplex site and the Imperial Centre, which they also owned. Lederer has since sold both buildings and the Central Coast Daily is not suggesting any wrongdoing by Lederer.
On 1 March 2016, an email from a senior manager to Gosford Council’s CEO said: “The heritage list is about to be notified on Friday, however, the Gosford library is still identified as a heritage item… There was general discussion that the library should not be listed as an item and Property and Economic Development would provide an objection to the listing to support it being removed…
“Should we proceed to notify the draft heritage list without the library (however, we would need a reason from the P&ED to remove it) or list the library and review its status as part of the formal exhibition period?”
The response from the CEO was: “My recollection was that it was to be removed”. And so it was, without any reason given.
The deal with Lederer to acquire Kibbleplex also went through on 1 March 2016.
Worthy heritage item
By June 2016, Gosford Council had been replaced by Central Coast Council with an administrator and acting CEO.
Emails confirm the library was removed from the heritage list before amalgamation and that “No reason was ever given”.
In June 2016 a staff member asked their manager in an email: “My question is can we put it back and leave the decision to the administrator as to the fate of the library? If not, I am at a bit of a loss as to what to give as a reason for its removal from the list.”
In early 2017, a member of staff was asked to provide information about why the building was not on the 2016 final heritage list. The officer wrote: “The heritage listing came from the community and was supported by the heritage consultant… In my mind it easily meets the criteria for heritage listing at the local level…the library is often described as a building that would be great as some sort of museum, or heritage centre, or gallery for the local area. Perhaps even a visitor’s centre.”
The memo said the decision to remove the library from the heritage list was reviewed after amalgamation: “we couldn’t simply remove the building from the list but … we should separate the listing from the general study and run some community engagement around its social values and significance to the community. Nothing further has been done and it has slipped back off the list.”
On again, off again
The heritage value and social significance of the library building have been kicked around like a football ever since.
In April 2018, the NSW Government Architect included the building as a feature of Gosford’s ‘civic heart’ in its Urban Design Framework: “The existing library becomes a community space with exhibition space, meeting space and amenities for the park.”
A 2020 Central Coast Council Heritage Study Review included the building which was found to meet six out of the seven criteria resulting in a recommendation to list it in the Central Coast Council Local Environmental Plan (LEP) as a built heritage item.
In May 2020 council announced it would be putting together a place plan and concept design for Kibble Park, including several phases of community consultation.
The first version of the place plan and concept plan emerged in March 2021, when a unit manager asked: “How will these plans impact on what the Kibbleplex development proposed for Kibble Park – their designs were all about concrete and plaza style spaces”.
In other words, the plans retained the library building.
The memo highlighted termite activity, which has since been addressed. The writer supported retaining public toilets under the library and removing the Parkhouse building.
It appears the June 2021 plans were not released to the public or released to Ms Jackson via GIPA.
The Kibble Park project was put on hold in mid-2021 due to the council’s financial situation.
Brand new plan
Documents from October 2022 indicate plans to demolish the building even though the public was not informed until 2023 when they were consulted on the ‘new’ place plan and concept plan for Kibble Park.
On 19 October a director forwarded a memo from a unit manager to the administrator and CEO. A covering email said: “There appears to be some chatter regarding demolition of the existing Gosford Library amongst staff which could spill over into the community… I wanted to make sure you had information at hand in case this does gain momentum.”
The unit manager’s memo said the existing library was to be demolished “to allow for the site to be converted to open space as part of the Kibble Park Place and Concept Plan designs” but the plan hadn’t yet been presented to the Executive Leadership Team or confirmed.
That lack of senior leadership approval did not stop the unit manager from executing the case in favour of demolition.
“While the initial phase of engagement indicated some support for the retention of the old Gosford Library from stakeholders, a revised version of the two plans has been produced to prosecute the concept of removing the old library…
The author provided examples of “benefits” of the demolition: a strong vista and sense of space when viewed from the [new] Gosford Regional Library…. better opportunities to link the Gosford Regional Library through Kibble Park and north towards the retail precinct… enhances the area best suited for events and activations.
This memo to the CEO and Administrator was not authored by a council officer with planning, environment or heritage expertise.
The Kibble Park Place Plan, with the old library building touted for demolition, was exhibited in 2023 and adopted by the administrator – he also ordered the demolition of the library building but that is now on hold pending the councillor’s review.
The GIPA documents indicate that council had been getting heat from community in 2024 about the administrator’s demolition decision.
“It is shocking to read council’s plans to demolish the old library…” one resident wrote. The following response was offered by a council officer: “I do know that whenever the question of putting the Gosford Library building on the heritage list, successive library managers and council directors and CEOs were very much against this for various reasons.”
Those reasons were not outlined.
Competing views
Whilst an uninterrupted view across Kibble Park to the Imperial Centre from the new Gosford Regional Library may be important to those who will be working in the new building, what about the views of council’s heritage experts and qualified planners in relation to the fate of the old building?
The released documents include plenty of insights. The building is recognised as significant and included on the Australian Institute of Architects Register of Significant Buildings in NSW. The Central Coast has only four buildings on the register.
“The register only includes buildings that are considered to be of a very high standard or are award winning.”
It was recently heritage listed by the National Trust of NSW.
“The library building has again been identified for local heritage listing in council’s latest review of heritage nominations. This report is yet to go on public exhibition or before council and council will consider the heritage nomination in context of council’s recommendation to demolish the library.
“The building is much more significant than previously assessed.”
A flurry of emails in April 2024 indicated just how significant. A senior planner commented that a colleague had “written a great section under Aesthetic/Creative/Technical achievement describing the building and why it fits into the Sydney School Style – not sure if we should add it – it is likely to get taken out.”
The same email commented about the likely response from other sections of council: “Not sure the responses will be what they are after but they are facts, and I don’t think we can say that the library is not of heritage significance when it is.”
The same email trail said: “There are seven criteria for assessing the heritage significance of an item as set by Heritage NSW and Gosford library possesses all seven of them, some at the state level.
“Gosford library is of state significance as it is representative of the distinguished artisans, craftsmen, architectural and building industry professionals within the ACT and Sydney during the innovative mid-century era of advancing construction and engineering.”
It has direct associations to the iconic Sydney Opera House and Canberra’s national carillon. The experts stated that the building would be “perfect for adaptive re-use” and could generate income for council.
The 2024 emails questioned the absence of published costings for the demolition.
“The consultation undertaken by council was very flimsy and the intention of demolition by council was not clear,” it said.
Abrogation of responsibilities?
Councils in NSW have obligations to protect heritage items within their jurisdictions. They are responsible for managing and regulating most heritage items. Internal and external heritage experts have repeatedly told the executive leadership team at Central Coast Council that the library building in Kibble Park is a valuable heritage item in need of their management and protection.
Why is demolition of this building more important than its preservation, adaptation and promotion? The answer has not been articulated by the executive team within council. Prohibitive cost appears to be the only reason but Merril Jackson’s GIPA uncovered over-blown cost estimates for unnecessary items related to retaining the building.
It appears Central Coast Council doesn’t want to fulfil its statutory obligations to look after a valuable heritage item.
The council suppressed information that the public and our elected councillors deserve to know before making a final determination on the future of this building.
The Review Panel’s next meeting will be on Thursday, 7 August at 5pm at the Wyong Council Chamber.
Central Coast Council has been asked to respond to this story, and we will publish their response as soon as it is available.
