Gosford: Newcastle University to build campus at former Mitre 10 site

A former gardening centre in the heart of Gosford will be used to nurture home grown degrees with Newcastle University signing on to develop a stand alone campus on the old Mitre 10 site.

The former Mitre 10 site in the heart of Gosford will be transformed into a stand-alone campus after Newcastle University was named as the “preferred partner” following an expressions of interest.

NSW Infrastructure Minister Rob Stokes and Training Minister Alister Henskens visited Gosford on Monday to announce Newcastle University was identified as the preferred partner following the EOI, which was announced in May last year.

“The Central Coast has all of the building blocks to be an economic and innovation powerhouse — proximity to Sydney and Newcastle, established local industries, health and transport infrastructure and a great lifestyle,” Mr Stokes said.

“The region is an important part of our six cities vision and we will make the Central Coast a premier destination to live, study, work and invest.”

With an existing campus at Ourimbah and a significant investment in the recently opened the Central Coast Clinical School, Newcastle University was always the most obvious choice for delivering a new campus in Gosford.

Newcastle University was also the delivery partner for the Central Coast Clinical School and Research Institute at Gosford Hospital. Picture: Eddie O'Reilly

Mr Henskens said the campus had strong community support and would create a “pipeline of skilled workers” close to home.

“Our universities were heavily impacted by the pandemic and developing the Central Coast’s higher education capability will help attract other education institutions and businesses to the region,” he said.

The large 4,650sq m site on Mann St is being provided by the state government with $18 million already promised by the federal government ahead of the 2019 election.

Newcastle University Vice-Chancellor Professor Alex Zelinsky said the tertiary provider was “delighted” to be selected.

“We know young people on the Central Coast want more opportunities to study at university without leaving the region, and we know that businesses need qualified staff to help them thrive. Our new campus in the heart of Gosford will meet both of those needs.,” he said.

“We expect to see more than 1000 students studying at the Gosford campus once complete, with this figure growing to around 3000 students located in Gosford over the next decade.

“We’ll offer courses to support the development of a health, innovation and education campus and will work with business and industry in the area to identify skill needs and gaps, and to provide work integrated learning opportunities for students.

“We are proud to have been on the Central Coast for more than 30 years at our Ourimbah Campus, educating more than 40,000 students during that time.

He said the university would at least match the $18 million in funding provided by the federal government with the campus up and running within five years.

Terrigal State Liberal MP Adam Crouch said the university campus would give local students an opportunity to get a world-class education without commuting.

The former GPH store in the 1950s before it became the Mitre 10, which closed in 2008.

“We’re growing the Central Coast as a world-class health precinct by improving health services and research opportunities right across our region,” Mr Crouch said.

The new campus is expected to focus on Law and Information Technology degrees to compliment, rather than conflict, with medical degrees being offered at the new clinical school within Gosford Hospital.

The former Mitre 10 hardware and gardening store has sat vacant since it closed in 2008.