Future needs a different Landing

I'm 21-years-old and am planning a wedding for July, which means the future of the Central Coast is an important thing to me.

I hope to raise my family here as I was raised; playing in the streets and getting up to mischief day after day in the many wide open spaces, parks and, to my mother's dismay, the wetlands.

I've been reading Coast Community News on and off for a couple of years now; in particular the Forum section.

I enjoy the debates, the fact that so many people have so many opinions and that we can discuss them openly and intellectually through the local newspaper.

There is, however, one subject I'm a little sick of hearing about, The Gosford Landing.

Not because I think it's unimportant but rather the fact that a decision hasn't been made.

A few months ago I remember reading a call to young people of the Central Coast to express their thoughts on the proposed Landing.

So here I am, expressing my opinion.

I too want to preserve the beauty of the Central Coast for the generations after me to enjoy and I want my children to be able to run around in the streets, parks and wetlands.

We are so lucky to have these natural beauties available to us (that goes for a wide majority of Australia as well, not just the Central Coast).

When did worrying about what visitors think become more important than how comfortable and happy the residents are?

Tourism should still be on the radar as it brings money into the community but we'd be fools if that were the only reason to go ahead with the Landing.

In saying that, though, I would love for my soon to be husband to be able to work close to home.

I want my children to have just as many opportunities for education, sports, art and culture as other children have in Sydney and Newcastle.

I want to be able to take my out of town guests into 'the city' of Gosford for a night out.

So why do we all presume that to have one we can't have the other?

I would like to see the council compromise with the residents on The Landing.

Tourists aren't going to flock to the Coast because Gosford has turned into another Newcastle, Terrigal or The Entrance.

Creating an eco-friendly city could very well be the edge that the Central Coast needs and create not only a healthy environment for us but also a great attitude within our community; an attitude to respect and support our Central Coast's natural beauty.

We have so much technology available to us now including solar power, hydro power and wind power among many other wonderful things which can allow us to be eco-friendly without compromising on aesthetics or luxuries.

Many people in the community are already taking the initial steps to becoming more eco-friendly by growing their own fruit and vegetables, walking, catching public transport and riding bikes or scooters.

There has been increasing interest for more regular community-based markets (which enables people to make money off what they enjoy doing, puts money back into the community and keeps jobs on the Coast).

We have the exciting new Narara Eco-village about to become a very real addition to our community and many local people commuting to Sydney for an education in the natural therapies industry.

So of course no one is going to be happy about a complete overhaul of the beautiful waterfront of Gosford.

We've all seen that same beauty in other cities of the world disappear once investors think only about the money they can make off tourism.

From where I'm sitting, everyone seems to be looking only for the black and whites of the situation but the Landing contains various shades of grey as well.

The Central Coast and the people who live here have a great opportunity, so let's make the most of it and do something a little different and hopefully inspire all of Australia.

Email, 23 Apr 2013

Amanda Becker, Umina