Central Coast Council Administrator, Rik Hart, is urging the community to have their say on the future of a parcel of land next to Peninsula Plaza in Woy Woy, within a consultation process that could provide millions of dollars to a community greening program.

The parcel of land (Car park and curtilage, Austin Butler Access, WOY WOY, being Lot 19 DP 235385 [approximately 2000 m2part only]) was resolved to be placed on public exhibition to seek community feedback on whether the site should be retained in Council ownership or be sold to facilitate expansion of Peninsula Plaza.

Administrator, Rik Hart said the community is being given the opportunity to decide about the long-term future of their area, in particular, from a community greening and street tree perspective.

“Council has been contacted by the shopping centre owner and their major tenant, Woolworths, about the parcel of land next to Peninsula Plaza in Woy Woy, who are concerned about the viability of future operations in relation to logistics and public safety around current arrangements for the loading dock. This land is currently occupied by around 40 trees, some of which would need to be removed to mitigate these risks (and which would be subject to a separate development assessment process),” Mr Hart said.

“I have heard from dozens of community members about the importance of the trees on this site, and more broadly, about the lack of mature shade trees throughout Woy Woy and the Peninsula.

“I resolved at the 22 August Council meeting that the community’s perspective on this matter is paramount. I will be guided by the community’s perspective through further consultation on the following two options: (A) the site is retained in Council ownership (which would stop the sale process), or (B) the site is sold with all proceeds from the sale allocated to greening of the local community, for example, via an extensive street tree planting program.

“Considering the value of this land is in the millions of dollars, the resultant greening program (delivering thousands of trees) would be fully funded and could deliver a significant, long-term, and meaningful boost to canopy cover, shade, and mature trees in the local area. A greening program would go a very long way to offsetting the heat impacts associated with reduced tree canopy and climate change.”

Mr Hart acknowledged the strong community interest in this matter, including the Member for Gosford, Ms Liesl Tesch AM’s community petition to save the trees at Austin Butler Reserve.

“I met with the Member for Gosford about this matter recently and explained to her my intention to put these two options to the community, including my commitment to use the proceeds of the sale to fully fund a significant greening program for the local area. While the Member for Gosford’s intention is for the community’s voice to be heard, I hope that she is considering the long-term impacts of both options, in particular, the significant impacts that a greening program could have to address concerns about loss of trees that many members of the Peninsula community are already very vocal about.

“In short, the proposal is to sacrifice a few dozen mature trees now, for the benefit of thousands of trees planted in the area over the next 10 years which would provide a substantial benefit for future generations.”

Central Coast Council will now conduct community engagement on the options resolved at the 22 August 2023 Council meeting as part of the public exhibition process for the reclassification of land (Item 2.5 – Bulk reclassification of land – Operational-to-Community and Community-to-Operational).

“I encourage the community to think about the short- and long-term impacts of each option before having their say. This is a chance for the community to have a measurable impact on the future of their area.”

ENDS