We have photos in the gallery.

Or check out the press release.

It’s another step forward for Gosford city centre.

The Masterplan to revitalise the City of Gosford was launched today, along with the announcement that Gosford City Council has secured 600 parking spaces in the City Centre, through the purchase of Gosford Town Centre Shopping Centre.
Mayor of Gosford City, Councillor Chris Holstein said the need for additional car parking was identified by the community in response to the release of the draft Masterplan. “Many residents provided feedback following the release of the draft Masterplan who were concerned that the Plan didn’t address the need for increased parking in the City Centre.
“In response to these concerns, Council is proud to announce that we have purchased Gosford Town Centre to provide 600 parking spaces in the City Centre.

“This investment makes sound economic sense, as through the utilisation of existing car spaces and a $7 million contribution from the Federal Government, we can provide the residents of Gosford with the car parking they have asked for with no rate increases or increased financial pressure on our community,” said Clr Holstein.
Gosford City Council’s Director City Centre Development, Ms Colleen Worthy- Jennings said the Gosford Business Improvement District (GBID) was working with retailers in the Gosford Town Centre to find alternative locations in the City.

“The future face of retail in Gosford City Centre will change to accommodate emerging services and trends. As the City grows and develops, different retail opportunities will arise.

“Council is working with GBID to renew the main streets of Gosford through filling the empty spaces,” said Ms Worthy-Jennings.
Ms Worthy-Jennings said that while the purchase of Gosford Town Centre Shopping Centre was a significant announcement, it was only one component of the strategy to revitalise the City of Gosford to become a world-class regional City.

“We know that one single development will not revitalise the City and we have learned this from history. “We know that it takes many initiatives to build a city and a strong economy and we also know that creating a place for people is at the heart of any revitalisation project,” said Ms. Worthy-Jennings.

“I am pleased to announce the release of a Request for Proposals for The Landing at Gosford, seeking a partner to work with the Land and Property Management Authority in the redevelopment of Gosford’s waterfront,” Mr Kelly said.

“This will be a major project that will be of enormous local significance, involving almost 100 hectares of waterfront land and seabed, a build-out timeframe of 20 or more years, in excess of $1 billion of infrastructure and construction, and is a cornerstone for the renewal of Gosford.

“The Landing at Gosford will be a powerful generator of jobs through its design and construction phases and, as it progressively evolves to built form, a magnet for further investment in the region, with the consequent creation of further employment.

“This drive for new jobs, and in particular for jobs close to home, is a key element in our government’s regional strategy.

“One of the clearest messages that came from the community during the development of the Masterplan for Gosford was that they wished to see Gosford city reconnected to its magnificent waterfront.

Member for Gosford, Marie Andrews, encouraged business to put forward their proposals.

“This is a wonderful opportunity to make a difference to our Gosford’s magnificent waterfront and will be a significant benefit for our region for generations to come.” said Marie Andrews.

“The Keneally government is committed to supporting the Central Coast region and specifically the people of Gosford and Gosford City Council through the Gosford Challenge city renewal project.

“The recent renaming of the Festival Development Corporation as the Central Coast Region Development Corporation and the expansion of its role to accelerate growth and private investment in the Central Coast region is part of the NSW Government’s plans to see a rejuvenation of Gosford.

“The implementation of the Landing at Gosford will be a core project of the development corporation.”

For more information visit the Project Website www.thelandingatgosford.com.au

Well the Minister for Planning, Tony Kelly MLC has written back.

Here is an excerpt from the Minister’s response:

“I wish to inform you that I have agreed to consider the Gosford Waterfront site as a potential SSS under Schedule 3 of State Environmental Planning Policy (Major Development ) 2005 (Major Development SEPP).

LPMA will be responsible for the preparation of a SSS study, which will be placed on public exhibition. The Department will consult with Council during its consideration of the SSS study to ensure that Council’s comments regarding the development of the site are duly considered.”

When Council received feedback on the draft Masterplan one of the things people liked most was the activation and development of the waterfront. At the moment it is not possible to develop the waterfront. The current rules or regulations (development controls and zoning) don’t allow for development to be done in a way that adheres to the principles of the Masterplan.

The SSS process will review and revise current rules and regulations in accordance with the principles of the Masterplan.

The principles of the Masterplan in relation to the waterfront include, among other things: continuous public access; to minimise view loss from the city; to maintain or enhance the natural environment; development of retail, entertainment offices and new waterfront apartments.

This is another step forward in making Gosford the Regional City the Central Coast deserves.  Watch this space.

According to Mr Macdonald NSW became a gold partner of the Australian Pavilion because it presented a valuable opportunity for NSW to strengthen existing relationships and develop new areas of cooperation.

Gosford Council has decided to participate in this event to pursue a Gosford Challenge initiative to attract a Chinese University to the Gosford City Centre and to promote investment in the Gosford region more generally.

“We can’t wait for investment to come to us. This is a wonderful opportunity, with the support of government to present our case directly to investors in China.” said Colleen Worthy-Jennings

Research has shown that students and universities facilitate the revitalisation of cities. Our own community identified the need to have a university presence in Gosford in their Vision 2025 document. The Challenge team has been aggressively seeking an Australian university presence in the city centre (either in campus or entirety) for over 12 months.

We are also looking at the ability to have a Chinese University on site, because:

- we need a competitive advantage which could be the point of difference offered by a university that specialises in traditional Chinese medicine
- this would complement western medicine
- of the strength of the Chinese economy

The Central Coast Minister, who is also the Minister responsible for economic development has shown both interest in investment to make the Gosford Challenge a reality and the opportunity to pursue an international university. It is important to note the federal government introduced guidelines for overseas higher education institutions seeking to operate in Australia and signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in education and training with the ministry of education in China.

Currently our Australian universities openly market to and attract thousands of international students into their university courses in order to make them viable. Here we are seeking an international university to offer courses only available overseas for both our Australian students and international students.
In summary we are using this opportunity to
- attract an international university to give Gosford a point of difference and an opportunity to have a competitive advantage
- to promote Gosford to attract investment to make the Masterplan a reality.

Council’s Director City Centre Development Colleen Worthy-Jennings described the announcement as another step forward for The Gosford Challenge project.

“This particular upgrade represents an important investment to improve the transport and treatment of wastewater in what will become the heart of our region,” Ms Worthy-Jennings said.

“It’s essential we boost the performance and capacity of the city’s infrastructure like this pump station to meet future demands.”

The station was among the first to service Gosford and upgraded in the early 1980’s.

Council was recently awarded an interest free loan of $1.5M for the upgrade through the NSW Government’s Local Infrastructure Fund.

“Along with many other planned initiatives and improvements this upgrade creates a foundation on which we can build a thriving city in the years to come,” Ms Worthy-Jennings added.