Edgar Adams' Editorial

Gosford Council, and more particularly some of the councillors, comes in for a deal of criticism from CCBR from time to time so it is good when we have the opportunity to support them.

The Gosford Challenge, Council’s plan to redevelop the Gosford CBD, is the most positive step undertaken by Council in the last twenty years at least.

Interestingly, this is the result of an initiative by Councillors Peter Hale and Laurie Maher in the previous Council to embark on the Gosford Vision 2025 project, a far-sighted move to get everyone thinking about how Gosford LGA should look in twenty years time without the politics getting in the way. The community was consulted widely and a common thread that came through was the sorry state of the CBD.

For a long time Peter Hale had the idea of setting up a Development Corporation to take all planning and development control away from Council and the Government, similar to the highly successful Honeysuckle Development Corporation in Newcastle. In this way meddlesome councillors with only politics in mind would be excluded.

He couldn’t get that off the ground but he did get agreement for the appointment of a City Centre Development Director with an appropriate budget and decision-making capacity to make things happen without the requirement to involve councillors in the process.

Colleen Worthy-Jennings, then Council’s Director of Development and Environment, was seconded to the position full time.
She was to research how other cities and towns were revitalized and redeveloped; speak to government, major property developers and financiers and find a way forward.

In the course of her research she learned about the redevelopment of Coburg in Melbourne and who was behind it – Bill Kerr and The William Kerr Company. Being in a position to make decisions she engaged Kerr and the concept of The Gosford Challenge was born. Their engagement with the State Government and the support they have received has been astounding.
They have set up an enthusiastic team within Council which is also very positive.

The Mayor of Gosford, Clr Chris Holstein has said he is right behind project. The Deputy Mayor, Clr Craig Doyle, at a recent Gosford Chamber of Commerce lunch said this was not a time for negativity, so obviously he is 100% behind it too.
We believe The Gosford Challenge is being well-managed and has the potential to, at last, make the big changes that the CBD desperately needs.

That is why we all need to get right behind it so that the politicians can’t hijack it. It is without doubt the best opportunity we have had in over twenty years.

Edgar Adams
Editor

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