Central Coast Council (CCC) in NSW has started the process of developing a master plan for Warnervale Airport, which the council says aims to deliver an airport to the region that specifically supports general aviation.
The master plan process became possible only after the NSW government repealed the Warnervale Airport (Restrictions) Act 1996 last year. The Act placed several restrictions on Warnervale airport, including a movement cap of 88 take-offs and landings per day.
"The repeal of [the Act] provided our community with a clear signal regarding the future of the Central Coast Airport at Warnervale," the council said in a request for information. "Council is now getting on with what the State Government has asked of us in relation to planning for the Airport.
"As the ninth largest region in Australia, the Central Coast is recognised as a substantial growth corridor, yet it remains the only major population centre without a recognised and supported airport."
The master plan will included a 1200-metre runway with no room for extension, and the development of a Central Coast Aviation Hub as a driver of economic and employment growth, providing:
- a key driver for regional economic development
- a key driver for the generation of regional employment opportunities, particularly in the skilled, professional and technology-based sectors
- a stimulus for regional investment
- a stimulus for the tourist industry
- a key regional infrastructure project which will provide air transport options for residents and improve the region’s economic competitiveness.
CCC said the master plan would result in growth in the local economy and jobs whilst protecting the environment surrounding the airport.
"The Central Coast Airport Masterplan will set a coherent framework for development whilst providing certainty for the community to protect environmental and conservation land by identifying and excising these lands from any developable land.
"The general aviation hub will complement other planned developments in Council’s northern precinct, including Warnervale business and education precinct, Warnervale town centre and Wyong Employment Zone industrial lands."
Last year, the CCC commissioned a community survey from consultants Woolcott Research and Engagement, which found that 75% of people surveyed supported the objective of a master plan for the airport.
"The development of a masterplan for Central Coast Airport has the potential to provide an integrated aviation, manufacturing, research, and education precinct that encompasses the airport and the surrounding lands," the Woolcott report stated when it was present to CCC in November last year.
Last week the CCC resolved to proceed to the Request for Information (RFI) stage, which calls for interested parties from the aviation community to provide input to the master plan.
Responses to the RFI are due in by 31 March 2022. More information on the master plan and the RFI are on the Central Coast Council community hub website.