14 October 2026

JOY COOPER

 

A MOVE to correct a previous decision to protect community land was not allowed by new Mayor John McNamara only minutes after taking the chair. On 22 September, a report to Council proposed the transfer of 6 parcels of land from the NSW Government to the Central Coast Council.

 

THE mayors asked the Council to undo that protection at 7 Carnegie Drive, Avoca Beach by classifying it as Operational land. Yet under Section 31(3) of the Local Government Act 1993, Parliament explicitly prohibited Council from doing precisely that, placing a strict statutory bar on your ability to resolve this parcel as Operational

 

7 Carnegie Drive is a Ministerial state acquisition brought into public ownership under the Coastal Lands Protection Scheme specifically for foreshore preservation, scenic protection, and environmental conservation. This is not an isolated case it mirrors other state acquired Ministerial land in the immediate area under Council care and control, such as Lot 1 DP 221675 on Cape Three Points Road. Furthermore, all other Council controlled land in this immediate coastal precinct is classified as Community Land. Classifying 7 Carnegie Drive as Operational creates an unjustified, illegal anomaly in our local reserve network.

 

Under Section 31(3)(a), a resolution cannot be made if the land is subject to a public trust which applies here because CLPS land is acquired to be held in trust for public coastal protection. But even if Council claims no formal trust deed exists, Section 31(3)(b) creates an absolute bar whenever the State's transfer conditions require a public or environmental purpose.

 

Council cannot classify land as Operational if a condition under which the land was transferred requires a purpose inconsistent with operational classification.

 

Classifying 7 Carnegie Drive as Operational removes statutory public protections and grants commercial disposal powers violating both the public trust and more than likely the State’s transfer conditions. Furthermore, as Ministerial land, Council cannot unilaterally reclassify or deal with this site without prior approval from the Minister.

 

If staff claim Operational classification is required due to residential occupation or an existing dwelling on site, that is legally false.

 

Under Section 46(1)(b)(iv) of the Act, the law expressly permits residential leasing on Community Land where authorised by a Plan of Management.

 

Chapter 5.7 of Central Coast Council's own Community Land Plan of Management explicitly authorises residential leasing for council-owned housing. In fact, during the public hearing for Council's own Plan of Management, Council formally confirmed on the public record that the Act allows residential renting on Community Land and that Operational classification is not required.

 

Residential occupation does not require Operational classification under Council’s own framework. Attempting to classify 7 Carnegie Drive as Operational would be ultra vires exceeding Council's legal authority and legally void under Section 31(3). Under Section 31(2), this land must default to Community Land, matching the surrounding coastal reserves.

 

If this land does come into council ownership, Council and councillors have been urged  to align with existing precedent, follow its own Plan of Management, and ensure 7 Carnegie Drive Avoca Beach is formally protected as Community Land, as Parliament intended.

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