Central Coast Mariners bring community together

Central Coast Mariners bring community together

An issue that divides the Central Coast community is the spread out nature of the region with suburbs and villages dispersed throughout.  Everyone has a different agenda and a different opinion. 

However, sport has the potential to bring communities together and the Central Coast Mariners’ Grand Final win in late May proved beyond doubt that ‘Our Team’ did just that.

For the first time ever the Industree Group Stadium in Gosford was filled to overflowing with over 21,000 fans plus thousands more watching the game live on Leagues Club Park and Kibble Park. And then there were the fans watching on television around the nation and around the world.

The Mariners certainly put the Central Coast and Gosford on the map.

Our congratulations to them for their courage and determination in going the distance and driving the final goal home in the last minutes of extra time. 

OOO

More good news for Gosford came right at the end of May with the news that one of Sydney’s most respected property developer, builder and investment companies, Urban Property Group, had stepped in to save the St Hillers’ Central Coast Quarter project in Gosford.

Earlier, at the start of 2024 St Hilliers were forced to put the project into voluntary administration and construction stopped.

A family owned company, Urban us led by the Elias Family with almost 40 years’ experience in building and development.

With all the angst around big property developments in Sydney in recent years that led to the establishment of the NSW Building Commissioner, David Chandler OAM, it is heartening to know that Urban was the first developer ion Australia  to get onboard with he NSW Government endorsed iCIRT ratings. In other words Urban is a trusted builder and developer.

With St Hilliers also iCIRT rated and with the support of the Building Commissioner the Gosford project is back on track with construction teams back at work on site.

CCBR welcomes Urban Property Group to Gosford and we trust that they will see more opportunities to invest in and around the CBD.

OOO

This month we reluctantly report on the demise of Stevens Construction one of the Coast’s four major commercial builders.

The building industry across Australia is in big trouble with rising material costs and shortages, soaring labour costs and difficulties with availability of skilled labour.

Of course they are not the only builder in bother with 28% of all businesses going under in 2023 being in that industry.

Here on the Central Coast the construction industry is the prime driver of employment and the economy.  Not only that new homes need to be filled up with furnishings and appliances.

CCBR has surveyed a number of local residential and swimming pool builders and while they all report similar problems one of the most significant is that Central Coast Council is not getting Development Applications approved in a reasonable timeframe.  Every builder we spoke to said that they have the work but are unable to get started because of Council’s intransigence.

This Council under Administration has proved to be the worst possible council ever.  They are willfully blind to the issues in the regional economy.  The Environment and Planning Department’s Director is off on personal leave and no one knows when she will return. Meanwhile this Department is short by seven planning staff with no one wanting to work in the organisation.   The remaining staff also get tied up with defending rejected Development Applications in the Land & Environment Court. Right now there are over 40 cases before the court, most of which will be overturned.

In any business organisation the CEO would be looking for a job.  At this Council the Administrator gave him a 5 year extension to his contract at more than $500,000 per annum!!!!

Edgar Adams

Editor