Expressions of interest will soon be called for a newly created Central Coast Urban Design Panel to assist Council deliver high quality infrastructure, planning and urban projects.

The Panel will consist of up to 6 members in the fields of architecture and urban design to provide independent design review of significant project for both private and public developments across the region.

Council Administrator, Mr Ian Reynolds, said the Council’s population is projected to reach over 415,000 by 2036 so the time was right to establish an independent panel that would help promote a range of quality housing options for the growing community.

“Due to the expected growth in development on the Coast and the need for consistency in quality and design, it is the right time to re-establish an Urban Design Panel on the Central Coast,” Mr Reynolds said.

“Having this Panel provides an opportunity to utilise high calibre and relevant expertise that will assist in achieving better design quality of buildings and public domain areas.”

“It sends a clear message to the development industry that what we are interested here on the Coast is not just development for development’s sake but quality development for our growing community.”

All Development Applications lodged with Council that are 4 storeys or more will be referred to a member of the Panel for review.

Council currently charges a fee to developers for external referrals in relation to design and this will be used to pay for the panel’s expertise.

Council will also now apply a lapsing period of five years for all development consents on the Coast with the exception of those applications subject to the Gosford Local Environment Plan 2014 bonus provisions.

“The former Gosford and Wyong Councils had different default periods for the lapsing of consents, and this new policy ensures consistency across the Coast  - which is definitely what we need as a community and what the development sector needs to proceed,” Mr Reynolds said.

“This 5 year period is applied by nearly all councils, as it gives developers of substantial projects time to secure finance and buyers and arrange builders and contractors and to work through the often complex conditions of consent.”

“There is an exception to this and it is in respect to the Gosford CBD – where Council will impose a 2 year consent lapsing period to get development moving faster in what is now the regional capital of the Central Coast.”