'Anomalies' to limit building heights

Gosford's proposed new planning controls have "anomalies" which would limit building heights at Woy Woy and Ettalong, but not at Terrigal, according to the Peninsula Chamber of Commerce.

"The new controls have embraced many aspects of the previously adopted Peninsula Urban Directions Strategy but have left some perplexing anomolies in relation to medium density and town centre development," said Chamber president Mr Matthew Wales.

"Currently, council's existing planning controls allow a maximum building height in medium density zones of 10 metres.

"However, council is now lowering the height control to as little as 8.5 metres which in our view will severely restrict good quality building design and further dumb down the style of medium density housing on the Peninsula.

" In many respects, this is at odds with council's vision for garden style apartments with sub-basement level parking close to town centres.

"It will be difficult to achieve innovative design when architects and building designers will be severely restricted to tighter building envelopes than those that currently exist under the current planning scheme".

Mr Wales said that council had still not released the new City Wide Development Control Plan which was to include the specific design controls for residential and commercial development on the Peninsula and across Gosford City.

"We do welcome the additional building height and floor space provisions that are recommended in the new plan," Mr Wales said.

"However, we are seeing further inconsistencies emerging such as limiting building heights and floor space ratios on prime building sites adjacent to the waterfront in both Ettalong Beach and the Woy Woy town centre when similiar restrictions are not applied to other centres such as Terrigal.

"In these cases, the proposed floor space controls are no different to the current controls.

"But council has gone further by deliberately capping building heights to a maximum of three storeys.

"Again the Peninsula appears to be the poor cousin to the Gosford town centre and the Terrigal beachfront where no such capping applies.

"The Chamber intends to make strong representations to both the Department of Planning and Gosford Council leading up to the public exhibition of the new planning controls to ensure that the best possible planning outcome is obtained.

"Council has resolved to forward the new draft planning controls to the Department of Planning with the view to obtaining their concurrence to place the new Draft Local Environmental Plan on exhibition," Mr Wales said.

Press release, 4 Jun 2008 Matthew Wales, Peninsula Chamber of Commerce