Committee idea to kerb over-development

Councillor Lynne Bockholt wants Gosford Council to form a committee to attempt to limit over-development.

"Locally there is a great deal of opposition to medium density housing development and I think it is time Council addressed these concerns," she said.

Cr Bockholt wants to establish the committee, consisting of councillors and Council planning staff to emulate Sutherland Council’s attempts to limit over-development.

"The Labor party and independents won control of Sutherland Council by promising to limit medium density development and newspaper articles from the area appear to suggest that the State Government is supporting the moves," said Cr Bockholt.

"The first step Sutherland took to limit over-development was the establishment of a committee and I believe we should do the same."

In an indication of how highly charged the local debate may become, the Sutherland Council movements on over-development have been eagerly watched by other council’s and levels of government.

Leichhardt Council held a public meeting on medium density housing late last year.

A reported leaked Leichhardt Council memo indicated that the Carr Government would provide stiff resistance to any changes to their urban consolidation guidelines.

State opposition leader Kerry Chikarovski took the opportunity to lambast the State Labor government and promised to repeal key planning laws if elected in three years time.

"The Carr Government imposed urban consolidation on communities and they haven’t really been asked what they think and where it should go," she was reported as saying.

Cr Bockholt said Gosford Council was very much aware of the feeling of dismay in the community over increasing development being foisted upon the local area by the State Government’s urban consolidation policy.

She said Gosford Council had petitioned the State Government on several occasions to allow changes to the draft Local Environment Plan (LEP).

"The current LEP encouraged rampant development throughout the Central Coast," she said.

The State Government has identified Gosford City as an urban growth area to cater for Sydney’s population growth for over three decades.

Carl Spears, March 27