MEDIA RELEASE 10.01.2019 - CHAMBER AGENDA FOR 2019
MEDIA RELEASE 10.01.2019
CHAMBER AGENDA FOR 2019
The Peninsula Chamber of Commerce has today outlined its agenda for 2019 with roads and planning high on its lobbying list for the coming year.
“The Chamber will be continuing its strong lobbying this coming year centred around strengthening planning controls and improvements to our town centres”, said Peninsula Chamber President Matthew Wales.
“Our focus will be on ensuring that business interests are protected during the upcoming debate over the new Consolidated Local Environmental Plan which merges the old Gosford and Wyong planning controls”.
“It is important that the new planning controls ensure the continued vitality of our three local town centres and also ensures that development controls continue to provide good housing outcomes that produce good quality and affordable residential accommodation in both our retail centres and media density areas”, said Matthew Wales.
“The Chamber also wants to see a sensible debate over climate change and sea level rise which has the potential to adversely impact on the Woy Woy commercial centre and weaken investment in these areas”.
“We need to ensure that rather than subscribe to the ‘retreat’ philosophy, we ensure that resilience measures are built into our climate change policies so that properties are protected and values are not impacted”, said Matthew Wales.
“It is also important the Local Planning Panels are introduced so that major developments can be assessed through independent processes and at arm’s length from political interference. Local Planning Panels have been very successful in the Sydney Metro area and the Chamber supports the NSW Government’s moves to introduce local panels to the Central Coast which would include all developments over $5M”.
“The Chamber will also be pushing for proactive affordable housing controls for the Woy Woy town centre so that planning measures are introduced close to the rail/bus transport hub that encourage more affordable housing developments”, said Matthew Wales.
“It’s a crazy situation where virtually no new housing project has been undertaken in the last 20 years in the Woy Woy town centre where we have easy access to rail and bus transport, services, medical facilitiesd and major retail outlets”.
“Mixed use development is happening close to transport hubs right across the State but nothing happens at Woy Woy. This has got to change and Council needs to get on with its planning and management review of the centre as a matter of urgency”.
“Over the next 12 months the Chamber will also be placing pressure on both the NSW State Government and Central Coast Council to continue improvements to our local road network including the funded promises at the Maitland Bay Drive/Picnic Parade intersection, Dunban Road/Ocean Beach Road intersection and safety improvements to both Blackwall Road and Woy Woy Road”, said Matthew Wales.
“We will also be pushing for a review of the notorious Rawson Road/Ocean Beach Road intersection which continues to be a major choke point at peak times and school start/finish times”.