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Central Coast
State Government delays release of Central Coast growth plan amid heat from Labor MPs
September 1, 2015 3:43pm
Matt TaylorCentral Coast Gosford Express Advocate
Gosford Council says it is getting on with the job of planning for the future while it waits for the draft planning strategy.
THE Baird Government says it will not be rushed into a long-term plan for the Central Coast after the delay of a much-anticipated blueprint.
Planning Minister Rob Stokes said the government would release the draft Central Coast Regional Growth and Infrastructure Plan for public comment by the end of 2015, more than a year after he launched it.
“The delivery of the plan is being co-ordinated with the release of other regional plans, rather than being put out in an ad hoc fashion,” the former Central Coast Minister said.
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“The Central Coast regional plan is an important document which will set the scene for the region’s sustainable growth and will link up with the billion-dollar investment the NSW Government is making in health, education and transport on the Central Coast.”
Wyong MP David Harris.
Planning Minister Rob Stokes.
Mr Stokes was responding to claims by the region’s Labor MPs on Monday that the government had no plans for the Coast.
“This was just a pre-election thought bubble,” Opposition Central Coast spokesman and Wyong state Labor MP David Harris said.
“We need a plan for the region so that our basic services and infrastructure are able to keep pace with population growth.
“This is why our councils have had to become entrepreneurial, because the State Government has left the field.”
According to government projections, the Coast will need more than 30,000 new jobs to be created and almost 37,000 more homes to be built to cope with an expected population growth of 64,250 — or 20 per cent — over the next 20 years. It is estimated that 26 per cent of the population will be aged over 65 in 2031.
Wyong Mayor Doug Eaton doubted the planning report would be “visionary”.
“We’ll use the figures for jobs and housing benchmarks, but I think it will fall short on specifics and how we should achieve certain bigger-ticket goals,” Cr Eaton said.
Meanwhile, Gosford Council says it is getting on with the job of planning for the future while it waits for the draft planning strategy.
“While the department has been developing this plan, we’ve also been working through our own planning processes to make sure any growth in Gosford City is properly managed and balanced for the benefit of our community,” Gosford Council chief executive Paul Anderson said.
Mr Harris said the region’s four state Labor MPs, including David Mehan (The Entrance), Kathy Smith (Gosford) and Yasmin Catley (Swansea), had already started their own community consultations.
“We held a health forum last week, which included doctors and nurses and looked at issues like palliative care, the role of GPs and how we can take pressure off our hospitals,” Mr Harris said.
“We have lost a Minister for the region, and unfortunately the Parliamentary Secretary (Scot MacDonald) doesn’t have a seat at the Cabinet table.”
Mr Harris called on the government to focus on youth unemployment, affordable housing and building a sustainable community.
Regional Development Australia Central Coast chief executive John Mouland said he was “looking forward” to seeing the planning report.
“We’re not sure why it’s been held up, but it’s critical to our future planning.”
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steveJohn
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John
John
1 hour ago
This is what happens when you vote for a party that had no chance of winning the election. The Central Coast voted for Labor, so it’s no use whinging now when the Liberals won’t spend money on a Labor Area. Get used to it.
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steve
steve
4 hours ago
blah blah blah seems like another reason why the central coast is going backwards.both gosford and wyong councils should be removed under a no confidence vote,be another 50 years before anything changes on the coast,be prepared to ship your kids of to sydney for work because there not going to be any work on the coast for a long time,i bet it takes up to 5 councillors to approve the building of a footpath and that would be a debate!sack the council!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!