Wadalba property owners hung out to dry

In one of the most diabolical cases of council maladministration, firstly at Wyong Council and now at the amalgamated Central Coast Council a group of East Wadalba property owners have been hung out to dry by council staff over the past twelve years as they seek to get their land rezoned and sub-divided, while staff prevaricate, obfuscate and it appears deliberately obstruct a residential development of 1,200 homesites costing council millions in lost rates and the property owners millions in unnecessary costs and for the region, the loss of construction jobs .

The process began in 2010 in response to the East Wadalba area being identified by then Planning Minister Brad Hazard placing it on a priority list for accelerated development within an 18 month timeframe.

Wyong Council unanimously approved the move and in 2010 the Wadalba East Land Owners Group (WELOG) of approximately 40 property owners, at the recommendation of Council on the basis that they would prefer to deal with one entity rather than multiple landowners.      

Wyong Council Mayor Bob Graham announced in 2012 that 1200 homesites would be developed in the East Wadalba area, available for sale by 2015.

Since that time, despite agreeing to prioritise the East Wadalba area in line with State Government priorities, first Wyong Council and now Central Coast Council have been obstructive at every step.

The WELOG group have personally funded over $1 million of reports, that would normally be funded by Council as they did with the Warnervale Employment Zone,  in an effort to expedite the rezoning process.

Council's attitude to this issue makes a mockery of the NSW Planning Department's Central Coast Regional Plan 2036 which sets out that the region is expected to have 36,350 more households requiring 41,500 new homes by 2036, to accommodate a forecast population growth of 75,000

It appears that Central Coast Council has been working to frustrate all property developers and hold back investment in the region.