27 JUNE 2019
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YOUR INDEPENDENT COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER
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Gosford CBD developments update
ust a year ago the Gosford skyline was full of the sight of cranes at work on a variety of major projects which were to kickstart the rejuvenation of the city centre.
But in recent months, many of the cranes have disappeared, as some projects have been completed while progress on several other key proposals has stagnated. The completion of the ATO, the finance building and Bonython Tower, at opposite ends of Mann St, were a promising start to the rejuvenation, but several major projects, including the Waterside and Mariner Plaza developments, seem to have come to a standstill. Raine and Horne Commercial, Central Coast, Sales Agent, Andrew Dunn, thinks the property market is “on its way back” following recent State and Federal elections. “We could potentially see more developments moving forward as the market recovers,” Dunn said. A major stumbling block for the larger projects, he said, could be attributed to changes to the “sunset clause” for “off the plan sales” made in recent years in NSW. The sunset clause is used when buyers purchase “off the plan”, as is common with many high rise residential developments and the clause sets a time by which a development must be completed. “Historically, either the buyer or the seller was entitled to withdraw from the property
sale if the development was not finished by that date,” Dunn said. “In the last Sydney property boom, some developers were holding back completion of projects so they could take the property back and sell it for a higher price. “To protect purchasers and the integrity of ‘off the plan sales’, the State Government made changes to the legislation. “Unfortunately, one of these protections was that the maximum sunset period be two years. “Many of these larger developments in Gosford can’t be completed in two years, so developers need to fund the project commencement without any pre-sales. “At present, the market depth and availability of project funding make this scenario far too risky for a developer to entertain,” Andrew Dunn said. But CKDS Architecture
Director, Caine King, said he hoped to see an increase in development applications as business confidence restores. “There was a bit of a stall in DAs following the amalgamation of Gosford and Wyong councils,” King said. “There wasn’t much confidence in the market of being able to get larger projects off the ground.” King said new State planning controls introduced in 2018 were helping to build confidence. “We have seen a little bit more interest since the State and Federal elections and we hope to see even more DAs lodged,” he said. “Everything we see being built now is from (approvals) five years ago or so. “We still need new developers coming in to keep the market flowing.” Central Coast Mayor, Jane Smith, said Council’s planned Cultural Precinct, to comprise
a regional library, performance centre and linking walkways on a block bounded by Mann and Donnison Sts, would be “an important project to stimulate activity” in the CBD. Confirmation of the exact site is expected later this year, once commercial negotiations have been completed. “The completion of the ATO building and others in the CBD have already made a difference, and hopefully, these things, combined with the Gosford Hospital expansion and a projected university campus, will bring in more people and stimulate local business,” Smith said. As far as stalled projects went, Smith said once Council had approved a DA, project timeframes were then a matter for the developer. “A lot of land banking has been a problem in the past,” she said. “Various developers would gain DA approval and then
either sit on the land or sell it.” Smith said new planning controls set by the State Government might not be “the right mix” for Gosford. The Government introduced its State Environmental Planning Policy (SEPP), covering Gosford CBD, in October, 2018. “I believe the government should have been more modest in its controls,” Smith said. “Just going higher is not necessarily viable. Prior to the government setting new planning controls, developers were already permitted to build to 20 storeys, she said. “Council’s role is not just to please developers but to create liveable spaces. “Massive towers need to be balanced by the correct infrastructure and open spaces.” Council is doing its bit to make the city development
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ready. A spokesman said Council’s expansion and upgrade of the Gosford CBD water and sewage system was on track to be delivered over the next five years, involving upgrades to existing water and sewer infrastructure as well as new infrastructure in key areas across the CBD area. These include two new sewer pump stations, new connections to the President’s Hill reservoir zone and to the Gosford Hospital redevelopment, new lower pressure sewer systems to the Gosford Racecourse, and 7.7km of water mains and 6.4km of sewer mains. Council has also rolled out more than 260 parking sensors in the CBD, following on from the successful implementation of car parking sensors in The Haven and Surf Club at Terrigal in 2018. “The installation of sensors helps residents and visitors identify available parking through the ParkSpot (Central Coast NSW) app,” the spokesman said. “Using real time data, ParkSpot displays areas of available, restricted and unrestricted parking in the streets of the Gosford CBD. The sensors run between Donnison St and Erina St, and Baker St and Albany St North. We look at some of the key building sites in the CBD and their current state of development.
More on pages 3 to 5
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