DEAR News Of The Area,
IN July 2022 Council wrote to the Government seeking to be appointed as manager of the surplus land that is currently leased to the Australian Rail Track Corp (ARTC).
That land is generally west of Jordan Esplanade and north of Marina Parade extending to Happy Valley.
In October 2022 the Minister for Regional Transport and Roads (Sam Farraway) advised that the Governments Foreshore Precinct Project (managed by Property and Development NSW) “seeks to repurpose this under-used NSW Government owned land to generate economic activity and jobs”.
It should be noted that while the land is identified as being owned by the NSW Government.
It is, in reality, owned by the people of NSW.
The reply does not identify any reason why the land can’t become a Crown Reserve (or something similar where the primary objective is “public enjoyment and access”).
The land could be managed by Council in the same way as the adjacent Foreshore Reserves.
The only reason given as to why this can’t happen is that the Government “seeks to generate economic activity and jobs”.
It might be appropriate for Property and Development NSW to manage under-used land with the primary objective of economic return, in other locations of the state, but in my opinion, Coffs Harbour should be an exception.
The ARTC land adjoins and is intricately inter-linked with a high usage, public foreshore reserve and parkland which Council already manages.
In addition, the land interconnects with the rapidly developing Jetty Strip Precinct to the west of the railway line.
Council is in the best position to identify and resolve issues associated with these complex interactions. After all, that’s what Local Government is all about – our elected representatives dealing with local issues – not Sydney based consultants who have limited appreciation of local issues and our local culture.
There is a very real possibility of legal appeals against both the process that has been followed to date by PDNSW and the current proposal itself, which would permit up to six storey buildings for residential and tourist accommodation.
This could see the conflict dragging on for years.
At the end of the day, a compromise solution needs to be found to the current impasse with both sides of the debate negotiating in good faith.
Appointing Council as Land Manager (or granting a long-term lease to Council) would be a good starting point to resolving this conflict.
Regards,
Bruce FIDGE,
Coffs Harbour.