19 CO N T I N U E D A R T I C L E S North Officially Rated Under iCIRT Edgar Adam’s Editorial – Good news for Gosford CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4 And more good news was that Central Coast Council had awarded professional stadium operators, VenuesLive the management rights for Central Coast Stadium in Gosford. Built in 2000 this valuable asset has never reached its potential and Council has had the good sense to realise that they don’t have the expertise to run such a facility. NSW Budget an insult to the Central Coast With an election in mind it was obvious that the 2020 State Budget would be a Western Sydney Budget. We have provided a review of how the Central Coast fared in the Budget on Page 19. It certainly appears that the Perrottet Government, as with the Berejiklian Government, long ago decided that the Central Coast, being a Labor voting region, was not worth the effort. A Minns Labor Government come March 2023 is looking quite attractive. Edgar Adams Editor “We are proud to be one of the very first commercial focused construction companies to be given a 4.0 Gold Star rating and listed on the iCIRT register,” said Matthew Cook, North Managing Director. “Trust is the foundation of our business and has long been a differentiator in this industry. For property owners, buyers or anyone who works with or supplies to the construction sector, being able to access a register of trustworthy developers, builders, and others involved in the delivery of reliable, built assets is a game-changer for reducing risk in decision making. This improved transparency is part of the NSW Government’s multi-pillar reform program to restore confidence in the building sector for consumers and the broader community. Consolidated LEP soon to be implemented The much anticipated Consolidated Central Coast Local Environmental Plan (CCLEP), the result of the amalgamation of Gosford and Wyong Councils in 2016, will soon be implemented, providing a consistent planning framework for the region and pathway towards a smoother process for development applications and assessment. In making the announcement Central Coast Council said the Department of Planning and Environment (DPE) has indicated the CCLEP will be gazetted by the end of June, but some final adjustments are being made to ensure flood planning controls for development are consistent with those being applied across NSW. An LEP is the primary legal planning document for guiding land use and planning decisions made by Council. Through zoning and development controls, the LEP allows Council to manage the way in which land is used to strategically plan for the region and shape and support our local communities. Council Administrator, Rik Hart said a consolidated CCLEP has been a key deliverable of the amalgamation of the former Gosford City and Wyong Shire Councils in May 2016. “Once in effect, developments will be assessed against a single LEP and DCP, which will help to simplify the development process for applicants and also mean that Council staff can further streamline processes to promote greater efficiency for assessment of development applications,” Hart said. “The Consolidated LEP provides the foundation to progress further improvements to the local planning framework. “A consolidated DCP will come into effect concurrently with the consolidated LEP. “The next stage of updating the LEP will be the environmental lands review (also known as the deferred lands) which will be exhibited before the end of 2022.” DPE has advised the LEP will be gazetted by June 30 and will have a one-month deferred commencement, meaning that it will come into force one month after gazettal. This allows time for Council to switch its processes to the new LEP, as well as for applicants to familiarise themselves with the CCLEP. $115 million for Coast – billions for Western Sydney NSW TREASURER MATT KEAN handed down his first Budget on 21st June and Western Sydney scored the lions’ share of the roads budget with over $1.5 billion the Central Coast was lucky to get $64.46 million. By contrast with just one project for Western Sydney the Treasurer has allocated $60 million for a footpath between Sydney Opera House and Parramatta Park. UON Campus for Gosford The University of Newcastle will receive $18.4 million toward a new Gosford Campus (see full story Page 5). Social housing Social housing on the Central Coast is a blight on our society and yet this Treasurer could only find $660.000 for one new housing project for the region. Commenting on the social housing crisis that the Treasurer has ignored Coast Shelter CEO, Michael Starr said, “ “ The shortfall of social and affordable housing on the Central Coast is at crisis point. We are seeing a spike in people accessing the basics of life just to get by, let alone being able to pay rising mortgages or rent. Residential vacancy rates across the Coast have hovered around 1% for over a year now, resulting in a chronic undersupply of affordable housing. The peak body for Community Housing estimates an extra 5,000 new social houses per annum need building over the next 10 years need to address shortfalls-this budget goes nowhere near this and has missed the opportunity to respond to demand for people on low to very low incomes. “ Roads In respect to roads $64.5 million has been allocated for planning and new construction. Of this $26.0 million has been allocated for the long drawn out road construction works at Lisarow. In respect to funding to upgrade the Pacific Highway through Wyong Town Centre no specific mention has been made in this budget. However, in March this year the 2022-23 Federal Budget allocated $336 million to relieve congestion through the town in partnership with the State Government to contribute $84 million In contrast over $1.5 billion will be spent on road infrastructure in Western Sydney. Infrastructure $7.3 million contribution towards water and sewerage infrastructure for the Warnervale Town Centre. As one person who is familiar with the infrastructure needs of the Central Coast and in particular Warnervale / Wadalba area said, ‘this is a drop in the bucket.” CENTRAL COAST BUSINESS REVIEW JULY 2022
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTI3ODI1