Councillors will have to decide on May 26 if they want to endorse a recommendation from the Environment and Planning Committee about the old Gosford primary school site.
(Yeah, ok, you have to be pretty old to remember the old primary school was on the site where the tax office, Centrelink, and now a residential development sit above the leagues club park in Gosford.)
As you drive into Gosford from Gosford RSL Club over the Brian McGowan Bridge, you note the high rise in front of you.
The next step in that development is for a 42 storey building on its south side, at 26–30 Mann Street,.
Council’s Environment and Planning Committtee want council to
tell the relevant government department that it does not object to the proposal from Central Coast Quarter for a 42 storey building and that in its view the solar and overshadowing impact on memorial park is acceptable.
This is in contrast to information provided to the applicant in a pre-DA (development application) meeting where council staff had significant concerns regarding the external impacts of the proposal, particularly in relation to Memorial Park.
Memorial Park is where Anzac Day ceremonies are held. It is opposite the Anglican Church in Mann St.
“Council considers Memorial Park to be a highly valued civic, cultural, and commemorative public space, with its elevated landform, outlook, and function making winter solar access a critical consideration,” council said.
“The proposal would result in additional mid-winter overshadowing of the upper park and Cenotaph during peak daytime hours, which Council considers to be an unacceptable impact on public amenity and cultural significance.
“While the proposal may technically align with existing development control provisions for park overshadowing, Council notes that these controls were not drafted with the scale and height now proposed in mind.
“Council places significant weight on the qualitative impacts of overshadowing on this specific and sensitive public space,” Council said at the time.
The Department of Planning Housing and Infrastructure (DPHI) is the authority assessing this development proposal, not Council.
The application seeks approval for a major mixed-use development comprising two towers (36 and 42 storeys) above a retail podium.
The development includes 2,153m² of retail floor space, 394 residential apartments (including 98 affordable housing units), a 152-key hotel, five levels of basement parking providing 479 spaces accessed from Vaughan Avenue, publicly accessible through-site links and public domain works, and a pavilion building for food and drink uses.
Council had concerns regarding the dominance of the southern tower, particularly in its relationship to Memorial Park and the foreshore.
“In Council’s view, the current height and bulk do not sufficiently demonstrate a balanced or stepped built-form outcome,” the earlier advice stated.
“Council considers that alternative massing strategies—such as reducing the height of the southern tower and redistributing floor space—could substantially improve solar access, visual scale, and public domain outcomes.
“In addition, Council considers that further built-form refinement are required to demonstrate that the proposed public domain, including through-site links and ground-level spaces, can achieve acceptable pedestrian comfort and support the intended range of public activities, the earlier report noted.
However, that is now superceded by the committee decision.
The issue goes to the full council for consideration on May 26.
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