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The future of the last remaining prime public land in Gosford CBD is now in the hands of the NSW Minister for Planning, Paul Scully.
By Jacquelene Pearson
Residents who made submissions in response to Central Coast Council’s proposal to reclassify land at 73 and 75 Mann Street, Gosford, from community land to operational land, to facilitate its sale, have been informed of the council’s decision to take the final step towards its reclassification as operational land intended for sale.
At the May council meeting, Administrator Rik Hart resolved “that council finalise the planning proposal…to amend State Environmental Planning Policy (Precincts Regional) 2021 to enable to reclassification of …73-75 Mann Street, Gosford, from community land to operational land.”
The next step in the process is that council requests the Minister for Planning and Public Spaces to proceed with steps for drafting and making the amendment to Central Coast Local Environmental Plan 2022.
The Point sent questions to both the Minister for Planning and the Minister for Local Government in relation to this reclassification but have not had a response. For the sake of transparency and public interest, here are most of the questions we sent to the office of Minister Scully:
- Is the Minister aware that the former government entered a conditional memorandum of understanding to acquire community land in Mann St prior to council before commencing a process to reclassify that land to operational land to facilitate its potential sale?
- Is the Minister aware that the Central Coast Council under Administration asked the Local Planning Panel to give it permission to reclassify the land at 73 and 75 Mann St Gosford without adhering to the steps set out in the Local Government Act?
- Is the Minister aware that the Central Coast Council held the public hearing for the consideration of the reclassification of this land on a Friday afternoon in a tent at the back of the Central Coast stadium, making it prohibitive for community members to easily attend?
- Is the Minister aware that this land is part of a site that has been earmarked for a performing arts precinct along with the Broadwater Hotel site and former Gosford Council chamber? Is he aware it is the last remaining public land in the Gosford CBD?
- Is the Minister aware that the public exhibition of this proposed reclassification was part of a Let’s Talk Gosford campaign that did not give the proposal the attention it deserved?
- Will the Minister undertake to closely review the actions of Central Coast Council in relation to this land before agreeing to amend the LEP?
If or when we receive answers to our questions, we will be sure to publish them. Meanwhile, Mr Hart told The Point after the May council meeting that the reclassification of the Mann St blocks still had to be approved by the government “but that will be OK”.
“What we had was a memorandum of understanding and then we had a conditional contract and one of the conditions was that clearly the land had to be reclassified,” he said.
According to Mr Hart, council had been unable to “lock in” the deal with the NSW Government “until such a time as the land can be operational, which we can do obviously now. So it was not until last night that we could move forward.”
“Our team is in discussion with TAFE and TAFE staff are hugely excited,” he said.
TAFE do have to find the money to acquire the former Gosford Council building, the adjoining Broadwater Hotel along with 73-75 Mann Street, and that will be dependent on the new government, Mr Hart explained.
“Which, talking to local politicians that will not be a problem,” he said. “The Planning Minister gets involved and we have asked for a meeting through David Harris to speak with Minister Scully.
“The deal is basically done. TAFE has a $2 billion operating budget so the money will come out of that. The ball is in their court. It is a big parcel of land and it is going to be fully occupied by TAFE.”
As for what will become of the current TAFE site in Henry Parry Drive, “That will be over to what they want to do with it. It will be worked through with Landcom and we won’t be involved in that decision although we would hope that there would be some social and affordable housing,” Mr Hart said.
The Point asked Mr Hart to clarify why he had stated in the May council meeting that the classification of 73 and 75 Mann Street as community land instead of operational land had been a mistake, given that it had been specifically purchased to be part of a proposed performing arts precinct.
At the May council meeting, Mr Hart said: “At the time you had 30 days, you had to nominate whether it was going to be operational or community land and, unfortunately, no one decided it had to be operational land. It was a mistake made back then.”
Following the meeting, Mr Hart said: “You are right, they were purchased for that purpose but to operate as an entiry like that, and it was a staff error not a councillor error, people hadn’t realised that it should have been classified, if it was going to be an entity sitting there that was going to be income generating, when it was purchased no one realised that it had to be classified within a certain timeframe or by default it goes to community land.
“So people hadn’t thought about or worried about, and it was a fault by the staff at the time, at the same time they agreed to purchase it.”
We also asked Mr Hart to clarify statements both he and Director Dr Alice Howe had made during the May council meeting that a performing arts facility may be part of a proposed Gosford waterfront development.
“Well, I have to say there is absolutely no certainty about anything but what we have provided for in our draft ideas or vision is a significant public building out on that waterfront area,” Mr Hart said.
“When and if the state government decides to fund us and get on board with us, so it may not eventuate there, that is just a vision of what can happen out there.
“Clearly we have also been in discussion with Darkinjung [Local Aboriginal Land Council] because they have a land claim on a little parcel of land, so they would like a presence down there, so it could be an Aboriginal themed building.
Meanwhile, Mr Hart confirmed that his vision for the Mann Street block between Donnison St and the Conservatorium of music would be for “the whole space activated” as a TAFE campus.
“You are going to end up with 3000 plus students down the end of Mann St and the night time economy will be helped by having those students based down in the CBD and when we get the waterfront going students will be able to fill those casual jobs in hospitality,” Mr Hart said.
Mr Hart treats us as idiots. We all know the TAFE is currently suitably located and relocating and downsizing the TAFE will not activate Gosford and create a ‘vibrant night time economy’. Students go to TAFE to study not to recreate. This is yet another bait and switch pulled on the good and long suffering people of Gosford.