Yacht Club Future Redevelopment to Be Explored
Published on 08 December 2022
An agreement between the NSW Government, Coffs Harbour Yacht Club and City of Coffs Harbour that ultimately aims to help the Club achieve its vision of becoming a water sports centre of excellence and a tourism and community hub at the heart of the Jetty Precinct is to be put in place.
The agreement – a Memorandum of Understanding or MOU – outlines an Expression of Interest (EOI) process to be undertaken by the Yacht Club to explore the potential scale of redevelopment and to secure funding partners.
It is not anticipated that the City will contribute directly to the redevelopment of the Yacht Club facilities, but City staff will continue to provide time and expertise to the Club through its role as the Crown Land Manager.
Once the scope of the development has been established, and funding partners engaged, the Club could then be provided with a lease that reflects the level of investment secured for the site.
“The lease renewal process has been affected by new Crown Land Management legislation introduced by the NSW Government in 2018. The State Government is the owner of all Crown Land in NSW,” said Steve Bayliss, City of Coffs Harbour’s Director Business Services.
“Initially, the legislation didn’t allow the City, as Crown Land Manager, to approve new and long-term renewals of leases without new approved Plans of Management. But this issue was subsequently rectified through an amendment to the regulation.”
The timeline for the next steps of the process, which can now be accommodated within a 2-year lease extension, is:
- Final MOU agreed - 8 December 2022
- Finalise EOI process and documentation - 13 March 2023
- Release EOI - 31 March 2023
- Preferred funding/partner agreed - February 2024