At the 28 February Council meeting, Council staff provided an update on the Gosford waterfront’s revitalisation project, and a comprehensive engagement report was tabled which expanded on the preliminary engagement report released in December 2022.

I was pleased to see the engagement on this project has indeed been extensive. 

In addition to the previous community feedback received on the Gosford waterfront’s revitalisation (including the Gosford Challenge), Council staff sought community feedback through:

• multiple drop-in information sessions – both face-to-face and online
• business leaders and operators forums
• meetings with key government stakeholders
• written feedback
• detailed information on the interactive concept plan on YourVoiceOurCoast.com
• independent market research. 

I have also had many conversations with the community about this key project, most recently at the Australia Day community event where I hosted a pop-up stall to hear from the community. The Gosford waterfront concept was by far the most talked about topic, which people were overwhelmingly keen to see progress saying 'just get on with it'. 

Such extensive community engagement on this key enabling project for the region has given me great confidence in allowing its progression by resolving to allocate $2.2M to enable key elements of the project to progress. 

Now that we know there is strong support from both the general public and business community for this project to continue, I urge whoever forms government after the March 2023 NSW state election to provide $8.5M to undertake a business case and Master Plan for the Gosford Waterfront precinct, to unlock Gosford’s full potential. 

Rik Hart, Administrator