The Entrance – A brighter future coming

HISTORICALLY, THE ENTRANCE has always been seen as a holiday destination with a focus on it being at the entrance to Tuggerah Lake and the ocean – the perfect fishing and swimming spot and with its caravan parks and guest houses catering for a lower socio-economic demographic that goes back to the early 1900s.

Summer school holidays and weekends would see, and still do see visitors coming in their thousands and spending a few weeks swimming, fishing or just wandering around the foreshore. Even more day trippers come in at the weekends bringing with them their eskys and picnic rugs to enjoy the sunshine and be entertained by a starry-eyed council paying big money to music groups to keep everyone happy and to get them back. The only trouble being that these visitors spend next to nothing in the town and on Monday through to Friday shop keepers struggle to stay open and pay the bills. Good seasons with lots of sunny days are great but those years when it rains it is a disaster for these businesses.

Of course The Entrance is not alone, many other coastal towns suffer the same issue.

In terms of retail most businesses cater for the lower end and holiday market and one has to wonder how they keep trading.

On the other hand the food offer at The Entrance is quite extensive. There are around sixty food shops from small takeaway to restaurants covering a wide variety of cuisine and catering to the market.

The exception is The Entrance Social Club, formerly The Entrance Hotel which since being refurbished last year has become so popular that most nights one has to book to get in.

One very sad aspect that confronts visitors is the vacant restaurants on the waterfront and elsewhere around the business centre. In particular is Fisherman’s Wharf built in 2008 and which should be a signature food location and attraction but, except for one restaurant, is unoccupied and unloved.

Looking back thirty years and in an attempt to bring the town into the modern era to satisfy a changing more affluent demographic, Wyong Council, in 1996, under the leadership of Mayor Tony Sheridan and General Manager the late John Dawson, undertook a multi-million dollar Revitalisation Programme aimed at attracting investors, new businesses and a higher spending demographic. This saw the creation of a revolutionary children’s play area on the lake front, boardwalk along the lake edge to the entrance of the lake and extensive use of granite tiles to replace the bitumen paving along with a widening of the footpaths to allow for alfresco dining. Some years later the Tuggerah Lakes

Cycleway, a 12 kilometer shared pathway was built around the lake.

It was revolutionary though not supported by all the town’s folk.

At the same time Council introduced a Town Centre Levy and established a Town Centre Management Committee to promote the town funded by the levy. Unfortunately local politics got in the way and this initiative proved to by unsuccessful in the long run.

One highlight however was the introduction of the free Pelican Feeding, a daily event that became the town’s signature attraction for visitors and in particular - day trippers.

Sheridan and Dawson’s initiative worked. Property developers moved in buying up cheap land and building high rise home units wherever they could. As fast as development applications were lodged they were approved.

In the early 2000s The Entrance had caught the eye of Sydney property developer and builder, Bob Dunnet who saw the huge opportunities the town offered and by 2011 had acquired the Lakeside Plaza Shopping Centre and would go on to buy the entire block covering over 21,000sqm.

Dunnet’s enthusiasm for The Entrance would see him spend a million on a masterplan for the site which had been described by former NSW State Architect Chris Johnson as a ‘cathedral’ site while Mr Dunnet saw it as by far the most attractive in Australia for its scenic, aquatic and geographic beauty. However, he said the built environment was and still is dreadful.

In March 2015 Mr Dunnet lodge his Development Application for a $300 million development that would kickstart the town. The development would comprise two towers with a new shopping centre, 478 residential units, a 108-room hotel. restaurants and conference facilities, a landscaped podium with two pools and over 1,400 parking spaces.

It was a visionary plan, however Wyong Council at the time demanded that he contribute an unreasonable sum running into millions to support some of their pet projects for the town.

Nevertheless the Development has been approved and the approval remains preserved.

Lakeside Plaza renewal

Currently Mr Dunnet, who fails to be distracted by the above issues, is undertaking a $4 million renewal of Lakeside Plaza which will see twelve new shops and a large Italian restaurant as a central feature of the centre and says that one day conditions will be right to make his dream come true.

Publicans making a change

While many businesses at The Entrance continue to struggle pub owners Peter Harris and Andrew Thomas see a big future for the town and are investing.

The Harris Family completed a $6 million refurbishment of then heritage listed Lakes Hotel late last year transforming the property into a casual, contemporary pub, while Sydney publican Andrew Thomas spent $6 million on a revamp of The Entrance Hotel and rebranding it The Entrance Social Club. Opening in mid last year this venue has proved to be so popular that one has to book well ahead to get in.