Group of City of Coffs councillors pushing for council’s Jetty Foreshore land acquisition to be revived

A group of Coffs councillors are pushing for council to continue trying to acquire land earmarked for the NSW government’s Jetty Foreshore Precinct Revitalisation project. Here’s the latest.

Councillors Julie Sechi, Paul Amos, Jonathan Cassell and Tony Judge want City of Coffs Harbour council to continue trying to buy the land.

A group of Coffs councillors are pushing for council to continue trying to acquire land earmarked for the state government’s Jetty Foreshore Precinct Revitalisation project.

Councillors Tony Judge, Jonathan Cassell, Paul Amos and Julie Sechi intend to lodge a rescission motion when City of Coffs Harbour meets on Thursday.

At its first meeting on October 24, the newly-elected council voted to dump an application for land acquisition.

Mayor Nikki Williams said at the time that Lot 11 DP 843870 and Lot 10 DP 1284099 were identified for redevelopment as part of the wider state master plan.

Four of the five councillors who voted to stop trying to buy the land: Mayor Nikki Williams, Gurminder Sato, George Cecato and Cath Fowler.

The four councillors due to lodge the rescission were on board when the council decided to try to obtain the land in February.

If Thursday’s motion passes, the council would again approach Local Government Minister Ron Hoenig with an application for consent to acquire land.

Mr Judge said five “politically aligned” councillors had “plenty of notice” and statements prepared ahead of the October 24 meeting.

“Access to the motion was determined on political lines and there wasn’t fairness,” he said.

Mr Judge said he believed “zero time to consider the motion” was “not consistent with good practice in council”.

The use of the land has proved contentious.

Mr Judge said he received more than 100 messages from community members pointing out 68 per cent of respondents voted against multi-level private residential development in the area in a 2024 Local Government election poll.

“People were outraged,” he said.

“They said we had an almost 70 per cent vote against this. How come council is ignoring us? Good question.”

The state considers the poll results for local government use and the vote will not inform the Coffs Jetty Precinct Master Plan.

Property and Development NSW says the redevelopment will boost tourism and can help ease the housing crisis.

A Property and Development NSW spokeswoman said any residential inclusions in the plan would help ease the housing crisis being felt statewide.

The department also said the rate of tourism in Coffs Harbour was falling, unlike other comparable towns in our region.

“The Coffs Harbour Jetty Foreshore project provides the city with an opportunity to deliver much needed housing, while revitalising its visitor economy and creating more usable green space,” the spokeswoman said.

It comes after former mayor Paul Amos called for an inquiry into the state’s push for the development. That was rejected by Ms Williams.

Gumbaynggirr Elder Reg Craig spoke out against the state’s plans.

Earlier, Gumbaynggirr elders vowed not to perform a Welcome to Country ceremony if the government pushed ahead.

However, Property and Development NSW said at the time “extensive consultation” had been undertaken with the Indigenous community and consultation would continue.

“All this work saw us gather ideas from a range of different voices and members of the Aboriginal community who we mightn’t otherwise have reached,” a spokeswoman said.

Mayor Williams was asked for comment, but has declined until after the upcoming meeting.

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