Failure to include Glendale-Cardiff as a “catalyst area” in the Greater Newcastle Metropolitan Plan would be a missed opportunity, according to Lake Macquarie City Council.
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A draft of the plan, a state government document that sets out planning aims for Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Port Stephens, Maitland and Cessnock over the next 20 years, is on public exhibition until the end of this month.
Lake Macquarie Council’s submission is expected to be approved by councillors on Tuesday before it is sent to NSW Department of Planning and Environment.
While the submission generally supports the plan, it recommends adding Glendale/Cardiff to a list of 10 “catalyst areas” that are important for the region’s growth – a list that includes Newcastle City Centre, Broadmeadow, East Maitland and Williamtown.
Mayor Cr Kay Fraser told Fairfax Media she believed the omission of Glendale/Cardiff was “an oversight”.
“I was very disappointed when I read the plan to see that our strategic centre, Cardiff, was hardly mentioned in the plan, which to me was surprising,” she said.
“We know the potential of that area to deliver jobs and housing, so we’ve been working very closely with the department of planning and they’ve been very receptive.”
Cr Fraser said documents like the metro plan were important because they would influence where government funding for infrastructure would flow.
“That whole north-west area has huge potential for what the state government is talking about [in the metro plan],” she said.
“They’re talking about infrastructure with jobs, they’re talking about housing, they’re talking about business – that area really is a catalyst to deliver that for them.
“People are moving out of Sydney – we know this region’s growing at a rapid pace. There’s a bit of a spurt on so we need to make sure we’ve got the infrastructure to take that capacity.”
Parliamentary secretary for the Hunter Scot MacDonald said he believed the NSW government would support Lake Macquarie’s request to have Glendale/Cardiff added to the list.
“The object is to activate that area from a residential, commercial, commuter and transport hub perspective,” he said.
“I’m confident the NSW government agrees with that aspiration and will be supporting a plan that backs that in.”
Council’s submission calls for a push towards a “circular economy”, which would reduce resource consumption and waste and aim at becoming carbon neutral.
It also argues that the plan should identify major health facilities outside strategic centres – at Gateshead, Belmont, Warners Bay and Toronto.
Nick Bielby
Nick Bielby is a crime reporter who has been with the Newcastle Herald since 2017.
Nick Bielby is a crime reporter who has been with the Newcastle Herald since 2017.
