Issue 132 of COAST Community News

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May 5, 2016

Your independent local newspaper

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Issue 132

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Council continues to defy state government over PAC site n defiance of the NSW Government’s wishes, Gosford Council has determined to prepare a specific plan of management for the War Memorial and Poppy Park to ensure the areas continue to be community open space.

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Gosford mayor, Cr Lawrie McKinna, used his casting vote on April 26 to support a motion for council to prepare a plan of management to ensure Poppy Park and the War memorial have a declared purpose. Cr Hillary Morris put the notice of motion and said: “There has been a great deal of consternation regarding the protection of both the War Memorial site and Poppy Park. “As both sites are owned by Crown Lands, it is appropriate for council to develop plans of management as required under the Crown Lands Act. “Currently both sites have a generic plan of management, however, a more formal plan of management should be implemented to ensure both parks receive declared purpose status.” Long-standing arts campaigner, Ms Margaret Hardy, spoke in favour of the motion. “I am here representing the people who want the performing arts precinct built on the former school site,” Ms Hardy said. She noted that the NSW Government was insistent that the regional performing arts centre should be built on the Poppy Park site. She said the War Memorial and Poppy Park both represented a “memorial and it should be honoured”. “Given their importance, they should have a specific plan of management

Gosford Council will draft a specific management plan for the War Memorial and Poppy Park to keep them as open community spaces

developed in consultation with the community to set out how council will manage the land and how it will be conserved and developed,” Cr Morris said when speaking for her motion. “I have heard from the community loudly and clearly that they don’t want anything else built there,” Cr Morris said. Cr Deanna Bocking attempted to amend the motion so that the “declared purpose would include permitted uses for a performing arts centre with the land being predominantly open space, so it does have a declared purpose but doesn’t rule out having a performing arts centre there”. The amendment was seconded by Cr Chris Burke. Cr Bocking said there had been support to build the performing arts centre on Poppy Park since 2013 and recalled quotes from previous newspaper reports referring to it as the

“centrepiece of the Gosford waterfront” that would kick start the CBD’s revitalisation and a “game changer”. “We are taking a gamble that we could lose any funding at all for the Performing Arts Centre,” Cr Bocking said. “The only comment I have got from the community thus far is ‘just build it’,” she said. “The State Government owns the school site, so I am pretty sure they want to sell it to the highest bidder to put funds back into local school improvements. “The RSL is happy, FOPAP is happy, it is in the DCP, we have the cost of land covered in federal and state grants, so why not just get on with it? “What people will not get over is Gosford’s ‘mode of going nowhere operation’ that we seem to be stuck in,” she said. Cr Burke then spoke in support of Cr Bocking’s proposed amendment. “This has been going on

for 20 years,” Cr Burke said. “Whenever we are close to having something happen on the waterfront, we hear from a silent minority, this time 2,000 people out of 165,000,” he said. Cr Burke said he believed that if the NSW Government and Federal Government were contributing $22 million towards the $32 million project, “they should have a say in where it should go.” Cr Bob Ward also supported the proposed amendment. “The amendment doesn’t say the site of the performing arts centre should be the War Memorial or Poppy Park, but that a plan of management should include that potential use,” Cr Ward said. “Why cut off that option entirely, we might rue the day we did that,” he said. Cr Jeff Strickson said the issue of where to locate a regional performing arts centre had been discussed for the whole eight years he

had been a councillor. “I just want to see Gosford move forward, and if we keep procrastinating, it is not going to move forward, we are going to lose this. “If we have alternate sites and the opportunity to negotiate with the State Government, I would encourage officers to do that sooner rather than later, because the only people who are going to suffer here are the people of the local government area. Cr Bocking, Strickson, Burke and Ward voted for the amendment but it was defeated by Cr McKinna’s casting cost. Gosford Council’s CEO Mr Paul Anderson said before anything could be built on the Poppy Park, council would have to take ownership of the land (which it currently manages for Crown Lands) and have any title extinguished. He said the land had been valued at $3 million and would need to be purchased

by Gosford Council from the Department of Lands. Mr Anderson also said that the Poppy Park site had only been used as a potential site “for the purpose of getting state government funding”. Cr Vicki Scott also spoke in favour of the original motion. “I don’t know how the State and Federal Governments can ignore what the people are saying because it is loud and clear that the people want the entertainment centre on the school site,” Cr Scott said. “The State and Federal Government would prefer to put ugly office blocks on the school site so the office workers can enjoy the view,” she said. In closing the debate, Cr Morris said: “Poppy Park showed the community what can be done when you show imagination on a piece of open space like that. “I don’t want to lose a precious piece of open space. “As far as I am concerned, I am happy to accept the loss of state money and hope that the Federal Government would fill the gap. “I was never happy with the location or the design; I accepted it as a concept plan that allowed us to go out and get the funding,” she said. Votes for and against the motion were also split at four a-piece, so Cr McKinna used his casting vote from the chair to support the motion for council to prepare a specific plan of management for the War Memorial and Poppy Park and for it to remain as open community space. Gosford Council agenda, Apr 26, 2016 NM.7 Meeting transcript, Apr 26, 2016 Gosford Council ordinary meeting Jackie Pearson, journalist

Office: 120c Erina Street, Gosford Phone: 4325 7369 Fax: 4321 0940 Mail: PO Box 1056, Gosford 2250 E-mail: editorial@centralcoastnews.net Website: www.centralcoastnews.net

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