Coffs council’s Jetty foreshores land bid undecided as new mayor Nikki Williams rejects demand for probe into state push

New Coffs Harbour Mayor Nikki Williams has rejected ex-mayor Paul Amos’s call for a probe into the NSW government’s Jetty Foreshore Precinct development push.

Former Mayor Paul Amos has taken aim at the state government’s Jetty Foreshore Precinct plans.

New Coffs Harbour Mayor Nikki Williams has rejected ex-mayor Paul Amos’s call for an inquiry into the state government’s Jetty Foreshore Precinct development push.

It comes after almost 70 per cent of voters in a Local Government elections poll voiced their opposition to foreshores land being used for multi-level private residential development.

The comments by new City of Coffs Harbour council leader Ms Williams follow Mr Amos’s criticism of the NSW government’s precinct master plan consultation process.

City of Coffs Harbour’s new Mayor Nikki Williams says one question at the Local Government elections cannot determine the fate of an entire project.

Mr Amos said poll results were “completely opposite” to the Department of Planning Housing and Infrastructure Property and Development’s foreshores consultation results.

He said the state’s consultation process had been a waste of time and resources.

“We need to have an inquiry into the process from establishing the committee to appointment of consultants to the survey — all of those steps were flawed,” Mr Amos said.

“The state government community consultation has been lame.”

However, Ms Williams said an inquiry was not needed.

“One question is not enough to cover an entire precinct project,” she said.

“So the reason the community consultation and the poll results are so different is people do want something down there.”

An artist's impression of multi-level private residential apartments in the Coffs Jetty precinct master plan.

Mr Amos said the council should accept the will of the people demonstrated in the poll result and he pushed state and federal representatives “to accept it as well”.

“The people have spoken and council should go in there and fight for what the people want,” he said.

While Ms Williams disagrees a probe is needed, she said she intended to take “community concerns” to Lands and Property Minister Stephen Kamper.

The new mayor says she will approach Lands and Property Minister Stephen Kamper with community concerns. Picture: NewsWire/Nikki Short

The foreshores situation is further complicated by a pending application from the Coffs Harbour council, lodged in February, to buy land in the precinct.

Mr Amos questioned whether state plans could proceed if the council’s application was up in the air.

The Office of Local Government has confirmed receipt of the application for consent to acquire some foreshores land.

Coffs Harbour mayor Nikki Williams says the community wants revitalisation of the Jetty area.

“Following an assessment process, the application will be sent to the Minister for Local Government (Ron Hoenig), who will consider the individual merit of the application before providing council with a decision,” a spokeswoman said.

The pending application does not seem to be slowing down Property and Development NSW (PDNSW), which intends to proceed with the master plan and land rezoning – in collaboration.

“We want to continue to collaborate with the City of Coffs Harbour to deliver great outcomes in partnership with the Coffs community, with funds raised from the development of inaccessible and fenced off land reinvested into surrounding foreshore parklands,” a spokesman said.

Ms Williams said she would hold the state to its word that any funds made from rezoning or otherwise would go back into the community and not to “Macquarie Street (in Sydney)”.

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