Deputy Mayor outlines vision for missing link at Jetty

A small section of the land should also be used to help align Harbour Drive with Marina Drive says Cr George Cecato.

The jetty land ‘transfer’ from the State Government to Coffs Harbour City Council had some people scratching their heads but one Councillor with a special interest in the project says it’s a great outcome.

Some likened it to the political satire sitcom Yes Minister when earlier this month Coffs Harbour MP Gurmesh Singh announced $3 million in funding for Council to pay $3 million to the NSW Government for a parcel of jetty land owned by the NSW Government.

The 5,200 sqm block on Harbour Drive is situated strategically between the zones known as the Jetty Strip Precinct (the strip of shops and restaurants leading down to the railway tracks) and the Jetty Foreshores on the ocean side of the railway tracks.

It’s sometimes referred to as the ‘whale tail land’ in reference to the large metal sculpture there.

The land near the whale tail sculpture will help to link the jetty strip with its bars and restaurants to the foreshore area.

Mr Singh defended the arrangement on social media saying ‘Government works in complicated ways sometimes’.

Deputy Mayor George Cecato is on the Jetty Foreshore Precinct Steering Advisory Committee, announced in October last year, and says the transfer arrangement was “great news”.

“We were hoping to get it but we were surprised it happened so soon,” Cr Cecato said.

“Personally I am very happy that our local member acted on the requests of Council. That parcel of land is vital to the plans for the Jetty Strip.”

Fellow Cr Paul Amos is also on the steering committee and he was also surprised by the announcement.

Coffs Harbour deputy mayor George Cecato with Coffs Harbour MP Gurmesh Singh at a recent road funding announcement. Photo: Tim Jarrett

Cr Cecato says “without a doubt” the land should be used for access between the two precincts and for extra carparking.

He would also like to see a small section used to help align Harbour Drive with Marina Drive.

The $3m to acquire the land is being allocated to Council as part of the NSW Public Spaces Legacy Program and is reliant on them meeting agreed targets to speed up local development applications.

Council will have until June 30 to show they’ve met DA assessment performance improvements across the Local Government Area to lock in their full allocation of funding, ahead of construction starting on projects from August this year.

Mr Singh has been at odds with Council over their approval rates saying there simply aren‘t enough homes being approved and this is contributing to the homeless crisis.

Council's Chris Chapman says the number of development applications coming in at the moment, are the highest he's seen in a decade.

But Council‘s Director Sustainable Communities Chris Chapman refuted this saying the most recent figures show an increase in determinations during a very busy period.

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“The twelve months to August 2020 obviously covers the start of the pandemic and the first wave of COVID-19 which impacted activity right across the region, with every North Coast council having declining figures,” Mr Chapman said in February.

“However, since August 2020 we can tell you we have determined 413 development applications which equates to a 30 per cent increase on the corresponding period 12 months ago, which is part of the busiest development assessment period we have had in the last decade.”