planning · Central Coast Council
Former Old Sydney Town proposal backed for 35-hectare conservation zone in Somersby
Central Coast’s Environment and Planning Committee has recommended a NSW gateway request for rezoning at 945 Old Pacific Highway and 66 Myoora Road, with housing tied to tourism milestones.
A proposal to rezone the former Old Sydney Town site in Somersby would increase conservation-zoned land from six hectares to 35 hectares, retain and refurbish heritage buildings, and support expansion of the Australian Reptile Park.
Central Coast’s Environment and Planning Committee unanimously recommended that Council request a gateway determination from the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure for the properties at 945 Old Pacific Highway and 66 Myoora Road. Cr Doug Eaton, Cr John McNamara, Mayor Lawrie McKinna and Cr Rachel Stanton voted for the recommendation, with no votes against.
The proposal includes a tourism precinct and a residential component. The committee recorded the applicant’s claim that it would create 579 ongoing jobs, including entry-level roles suitable for young people and students.
The recommendation includes conditions for the planning proposal before it is submitted for gateway consideration. The predominant use of developable land would have to be tourism or employment, and stage one tourism uses would need to be complete and operating before residential construction began.
Future tourism stages listed in the site’s master plan would also have to proceed. Retail space would be limited to a neighbourhood shop of no more than 125 square metres, with all other floor space used for tourism or employment.
The committee also recorded that the proposal’s average lot size would be more than 1,000 square metres, described in the recommendation as having a rural-village character. The residential component would not be the majority of the site, and its investment would fund tourism, heritage and environmental outcomes, according to the recommendation.
The gateway request is an early planning step, not final rezoning approval. It concerns a proposed amendment to the Central Coast Local Environmental Plan 2022. The committee’s recommendation will now go to Central Coast Council, with the timing of any gateway determination not specified.
Reference minutes
Central Coast Council Environment & Planning Committee, Tuesday 4 August 2026.
Key facts from the minutes
- The site is at 945 Old Pacific Highway and 66 Myoora Road, Somersby.
- The committee recommended requesting a gateway determination from the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure.
- The proposal would increase conservation-zoned land from six hectares to 35 hectares.
- The proposal includes heritage protection and refurbishment of former Old Sydney Town buildings.
- The committee recorded a claim of 579 ongoing jobs.
- Residential construction would be subject to tourism-use conditions if the proposal progresses.
- The committee vote was carried with no votes against.
Why it matters
- The proposal would change land use at the former Old Sydney Town site, including conservation zoning, heritage protection, tourism activity and housing. Residential construction would be tied to tourism-use conditions if the proposal progresses, but the gateway request is not final rezoning approval.