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Changing of the guard at Lighthouse Reserve
Council’s partial backflip on Peninsula carpark sale
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Central Coast Council has done a partial backflip on its decision to sell the commuter carpark in Rawson Rd, Woy Woy, to the prospective new owner of Deepwater Plaza following backlash from the community and Member for Gosford Liesl Tesch –but will proceed with selling its option to buy 220 spots in the adjoining plaza carpark in 2032.
Business and resident groups joined Tesch on site on Thursday, March 2, to demand a reversal of the decision made at the Tuesday, February 28, Council meeting.
Administrator Rik Hart had resolved for Council to enter negotiations to sell the commuter carpark, which it leases to Transport for NSW for $1 a year until 1965, along with Council’s option to buy half of the car spaces in the adjoining Deepwater Plaza carpark, to the plaza’s new owner Raptis
Investments. Council has an option to purchase the 220 spots in the plaza carpark in December 2032, for a peppercorn fee of $1.
Tesch said the decision was bad for commuters, shoppers and the community.
“It is short-sighted to hand a hugely valuable publicly-owned asset and our rights to its expansion over to a private developer for a short-term revenue hit,” she said.
“Our community stands in opposition to this and we call upon Rik Hart to reconsider this short-term decision on a long-term community asset.
“We know that putting a public asset into the hands of a private provider (can) have disastrous consequences.”
Tesch cited the example of the Kibbleplex site in Gosford, once promised as commuter carparking but later sold by Council.
“Parking in Gosford is now an absolute disaster and we don’t want that for the Peninsula with its growing population,” she said.
“We are also very concerned about Council’s lack of communication.”
Tesch said there was no guarantee the private company would not install a boom gate and start charging for parking in the future.
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