Protect the Rumbalara Ridgeline from overdevelopment
Preserve Gosford's visual amenity of the natural ridgelines from over height development
Our Mission
This proposed development seeks to bypass the Gosford District Control Plan (2018) which provides a maximum building height for the site of 77 metres above sea level. This proposal smashes through that heigh restriction.
Multiple towers of 12-13 storesy in height on the ridgeline is grossly excessive and inappropriate and will negatively impact:
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The visual sightline of Rumbalara Reserve – becoming an eyesore from Gosford, Kariong, and the entire contract coast
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Neighbouring habitats of endangered fauna and flora
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Overshadowing and loss of privacy to all nearby buildings, and issues with mould and dampness caused by the loss of natural light
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The already overloaded curbside parking on John Whiteway Drive
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Unsafe traffic levels and potholes on a busy stretch of road
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2-3 years of loud construction noise due to heavy earthworks required to build deep foundations on a steep and narrow site.
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Our Call to Action
Every unique objection to this proposal means that the plans are likely to be modified by the planning authorities. Opposition to a 2021 development on John Whiteway Drive successfully resulted in the number of units being cut from 260 to 188 and a reduction in building height from 12 storeys to 5-9 storeys – speaking up works!
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Add your contact details at the bottom of this page and/or Join our Facebook group to keep notified of future developments at Preserve the Reserve - Save the Rumbalara Ridgeline - Public Group
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Encourage your family, neighbours and friends to sign up as well
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Submit an objection to the plans when they are lodged on the NSW Planning Portal for public exhibition.
How we can help you?
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Once the final designs are lodged for public exhibition, we will run drop-in centres to explain exactly what is being planned, and walk you through the process of creating and lodging your own unique submission highlighting your cocerns.
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We will advise anybody who has signed up below or on Facebook on dates/times/locations once designs are lodged.
Together, we can Preserve the Reserve for current and future residents of the Central Coast. Join the over 500 locals who are already saying no to this proposal!
Ab out Us
The local flora and fauna we share our Reserve with, need us to stand up for their habitat too.
Who We Are:
Preserve the Reserve is a community campaign initiated by residents of Gosford and the Central Coast who share a deep connection to the Rumbalara ridgeline and a commitment to ensuring that major planning decisions affecting our community receive the scrutiny they deserve.
We are not affiliated with any political party, developer, or commercial interest. We are voters, neighbours, ratepayers, and community members who believe that Gosford's natural landscape and unique ridgelines are worth defending. When the NSW Government creates new fast-track planning pathways, those pathways should not be used to rubber stamp massive towers adjacent to sensitive biodiversity corridors and bushland.
Why We Started:
This campaign began in response to the proposal to build multiple overheight towers at 70 John Whiteway Drive, Gosford — a site sitting directly on the Rumbalara Ridgeline, adjacent to protected bushland, the Coastal Open Space System, and on the White Street Fire Trail.
The proposal is a gross overdevelopment. The site was previously proposed for a 3 storey apartment block in 2015. But this new proposal is to build up to 12-13 stories, at more than 100 metres in height above the ridgeline. The Developer is not simply applying to construct some new buildings — they are simultaneously applying to have the zoning changed to allow for radical new height on the site.
What makes this especially concerning is how it is being done?
This proposal has been declared a “State Significant Development” and granted HDA status (Housing Delivery Authority). A fast-track pathway introduced in late 2025 to accelerate housing delivery across NSW.
The HDA pathway is intended for well-located, largely compliant housing projects. It was not designed to rubber stamp a 13-storey tower on a sensitive ridgeline with no easy access to public transport, adjacent to a biodiversity corridor, on a site with known bush fire risks, geotechnical issues and visual impact constraints that the applicant’s own scoping report acknowledges.
The consequence of the HDA’s declaration is that normal council planning rules and community safeguards are bypassed. The Minister for Planning (not the Independent Planning Commission) always retains final consent. Our community will have less time, less visibility, and less say than it would have for a standard development application of this scale and sensitivity.
We started this campaign because we believe the community deserves to know what is being proposed, what is at stake if it is approved, and to have a say on the buildings that will impact the environment in which they live.
What We Stand For
We support housing that genuinely serves the Central Coast community – well-located, well-designed, and proportionate to its setting. We are not anti-development. Housing is a real need and we acknowledge it.
But we oppose the use of emergency housing policy by profit-hungry developers to fast-track a development that is wildly out of scale with its surroundings, would permanently scar one of the Central Coast's most distinctive natural landmarks, and would set a precedent for what can be pushed through sensitive environments under the cover of housing supply arguments.
The Rumbalara ridgeline is not an appropriate site for 13-storey towers. The HDA pathway should not override decades of considered community planning simply because a Developer includes in their proposal a plan to provide just 12 affordable units for rent for 15 years.
Get Involved
Our campaign is growing because residents are fed up with planning decisions that don’t respect the views of those who already live here. Whether you live on John Whiteway Drive, can see the ridgeline from your street, or simply care about what kind of city Gosford becomes – your voice matters and WILL influence the decision.
Every unique, personalised submission on this proposal strengthens the case for proper, independent scrutiny of a development that should never have been fast-tracked in the first place.
The Development
The Proposed Development
Issues due to the proposl for 70 John Whiteway Drive Gosford.
Previous DA
A massive new building on the sensitive, biodiversity corridor of the Rumbalara Ridgeline is an overdevelopment that is wildly inappropriate for this site.
Building adjacent to the biodiversity corridor and the Coastal Open Space System undermines the Central Coast's long-standing protection of the unique environment of Rumbalara Reserve and its western ridgeline, and an eyesore from all over the Gosford Basin, through to Kariong, our Gateway to the area,
Planned height of >100 metres is grossly excessive and dwarfs all nearby buildings due to the elevation of the Ridgeline and will exceed the Ridgeline by >80 metres.
Narrow, steep slope of the site creates geotechnical and flood risks for neighbours.
Construction of this scale will be difficult, expensive, and take many years due to the earthworks required.
Design will result in extensive overshadowing and loss of sunlight and airflow for neighbours, potentially effecting the health of local residents through increased damp and black mould formation. Mental and physical health through overcrowding, lack of open air space and over looking of neighbouring units.
Inadequate parking will exacerbate traffic and roadside parking issues that already exist on John Whiteway Drive.
There is no public transport easily accessible from the site due to the steep hill and lack of nearby bus stops.
Building faces a high bushfire risk being at the top of a hill and adjacent to dense bush, with the entry adjacent to the fire trail access, causing road blocks and limiting flow of emergency vehicles should summer fires hit like Koolewong fires at Christmas.
Current DA
Get in Touch
Feel free to contact us for any inquiries, we welcome media engagement, community engagement, we look forward to hearing from you!