December 2008 Cover Story

The Gosford Challenge, as it is now known, is the creation of Council’s City Centre Development Director, Colleen Worthy-Jennings and property strategist, Bill Kerr, both of whom are totally committed to the project – the first stage of which is the development of a City Masterplan.

The pair have been successful in getting the co-operation of the NSW Government’s various and many agencies, particularly the Department of Lands which has signed a Memorandum of Understanding to come on board and be part of The Gosford Challenge. Major government departments with large landholdings in the City Centre have agreed to be part of the masterplanning process while other government departments with regulatory and supervisory functions are also active participants. A significant achievement, this means that a seamless government approach to the redevelopment of the City can be expected.

Of immense importance to the successful implementation of this project is a comment by the Mayor of Gosford, Clr Chris Holstein, in Council’s Media Release (3 November 2008) saying, “All ten Gosford Councillors are fully behind the revitalisation of our city centre, as we have shown by signing the Protocol that affirms our united supported for proceeding without delay or interference with the process.”

A dynamic program for a new Gosford
The Gosford Challenge is described as a dynamic program designed to ultimately deliver a new Gosford through active participation of an engaged community, the vision and skills of pre-eminent architects, urban designers and associated professions and the resources and commitment of proven property developers – all working within the discipline of a formal masterplanning process.

Council says that unlike previous planning studies, of which there are many, the masterplanning program is designed to lead to construction of specific projects that will emerge from the process. Its development will involve unprecedented rigorous analysis and community consultation, the likes of which Gosford has never seen.

It will involve an extensive process of detailed site analysis and investigation, stakeholder and community consultation, preliminary concept design and commercial testing of the designs. It will deliver specific proposals, many of which will result in new buildings and public spaces that will make better use of the City’s attractive natural environment.

Council not dragging its feet
Council is currently inviting interested architects and urban designers as one group and interested developers and development consortia as another group to register their interest in being involved and to have their proposals in by the end of January 2009 with a Design Team being selected by Easter 2009.

The selection process will be in two stages. Firstly, the selection of a pre-eminent multi-skilled urban design team and secondly, pre-qualifying a small group of major national and local developers who will test the commercial feasibility of projects identified through the Masterplan and then be in a position to start construction.

Commenting of the masterplanning process, Council’s Lead Advisor, Bill Kerr of The William Kerr Company said masterplanning seeks to line up everyone’s goals through collaborative analysis and design with the aim of delivering a “win-win” outcome. Everyone involved recognises that masterplans that ignore the needs of the community and landowners are not successful.

Gosford Council’s decision to appoint Ms Worthy-Jennings to the position she now holds and give her a budget and the authority to go out and research how Gosford City could be revived, may well prove to be the best decision Gosford Council has ever made. It followed on from the Gosford Vision 2025 Project – both moves of which were instigated by former Mayor and present Councillor Laurie Maher and former Councillor Peter Hale, both members of Central Coast First.

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