Will this be the first 18-storey development in Port Macquarie’s CBD?

You may recall a few years ago Planet Warriewood/United Cinemas founder Roy Mustaca was hoping to build an entertainment and commercial hub in the heart of Port Macquarie. 

A dream that was expected to cost the company more than $30 million.

The nine-screen United Cinemas complex – including food and retail outlets, and an indoor gym and bowling – was rejected in 2023. 

Three years on and Mustaca’s Planet Warriewood company is back with a proposal that dwarfs his previous attempt. 

The company has in mind a development comprising 210 dwellings, including 35 affordable housing, and an entertainment and commercial precinct. If it goes ahead, it would be the first 18-storey development in the Port Macquarie-Hastings LGA.

The proposal was recently declared a State Significant Development, meaning it’s in the hands of the NSW Government, not the local council.

❓What happened: Earlier this month, the NSW Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Paul Scully declared the proposal at vacant lot 29 Park Street – corner Park and Warlters Street near The Westport Club – a State Significant Development (SSD).

• Minister Scully confirmed with the Mid North Coaster that a declaration is not an approval and a development application for the proposal has not been submitted at this stage.

❌ Council cut out:  Port Macquarie-Hastings Council wants the community to know it has nothing to do with the plan.

In a statement, Port Macquarie’s Mayor Adam Roberts said the council was not engaged or consulted prior to the declared proposal, and has not been provided an opportunity for “meaningful input”.

Scully said consultation comes later.

• “If a development proposal is submitted it will go through a full merit assessment process which will consider traffic and infrastructure needs, among other things, and include a period of public exhibition for community feedback,” Scully said.

• “Should an application be lodged, it is the council's expectation that the DPHI [Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure] will engage with council and the community at that time as part of their assessment phase,” Roberts said.

📑 Council has its own plan: Council says the SSD declaration comes at a time when it is doing its own community engagement regarding options to cater for Port’s growing population through the City Heart Masterplan, which has not been finalised or adopted by council.

• “I’d suggest the NSW Government should reflect on its current lack of funding support to date, for the critical network infrastructure upgrades Port Macquarie needs to cater for the significant growth of the Port Macquarie-Hastings area that council has been advocating for, for some time,” the mayor said.

➡️ What next: A rezoning application will need to be submitted to the DPHI for the proposal at the same time as a Development Application (DA) to comply with the intended residential purpose. 

In the meantime, the mayor has written to Scully requesting a meeting to discuss the proposed Park Street development. 

He also wants to discuss the council's City Heart Masterplan and requests for increased state government funding toward infrastructure projects “to keep up with growth of the area”.

Thumbnail: The declared proposal is for the vacant lot at 29 Park Street – corner Park and Warlters Street near The Westport Club. Google Maps.