The site, known locally as ‘the old school site’, is located on the southern side of the Forster town centre on the corner of Lake, West and Middle Streets.

The Developer will provide the following Council facilities:

• new public library of approx. 2,000 m² which is over double the size of the current Forster Library
• Customer Service Centre
• indoor and outdoor public community space
• a Visitor Information Centre
• community green spaces and gardens
• car parking spaces, disabled parking spaces and associated roadworks.

In addition to the construction of the Council facilities, the Developer (Enyoc) is entitled to develop the residual of the site for commercial purposes and has received approval from the Joint Regional Planning Panel for development which includes seniors living apartments, supermarket and retail shops.

No, the Developer proposes to undertake the project over several stages. The first stage includes Council’s facilities and residential apartments above Council’s facilities.

Over 180 car spaces will be constructed in the basement situated under the Council facilities for use by the general public. In addition, existing street parking will be enhanced.

Enyoc Pty Ltd has been appointed to undertake the development of the land. The Developer (Enyoc) and its team is associated with the owners and operators of the Evermore Retirement Living facility at Bruce Street, Forster.

The Forster-Tuncurry area is under-serviced in terms of cultural and community infrastructure. The Forster School of Arts Hall was decommissioned in 2007 and has not been replaced, leaving the area without local facilities to support a range of community uses. The existing Forster Library is a heavily utilised regional facility which is currently only half the NSW Library minimum recommended size for the community it serves.

To address these growing needs, Council assessed various options and in December 2015 issued a call for Expressions of Interest (EOI) seeking responses from parties interested in providing development services to Council and the opportunity to develop the remainder of the land for private purposes.

Following the initial EOI process, Council commenced a subsequent procurement process involving a number of interested parties to identify a proposal which would not only achieve Council’s goal for the delivery of its facilities, but also activate the site, and generate significant employment.

The project represents a significant development for the Forster town centre, providing high quality Council facilities capable of meeting the expectations and requirements of visitors and residents.

Provision of Council facilities will also serve as a catalyst for further residential and commercial development, both within the site and across the broader town centre. The Project will provide an enhanced aesthetic and more vibrant town centre.

The development agreement with Enyoc Pty Ltd provides that the developer will carry out and complete the design and construction of specified Council works at the Civic Centre site in Forster.

The development agreement requires the developer to complete the Council works in return for consideration of $15.3 million. Payments are made to the developer progressively under the agreement having regard to the works undertaken at the time of each progress claim. Prior to each monthly payment, the claim is assessed by an independent certifier to confirm that the value of the works claimed have been completed.

The developer has engaged Global Construction Corporation Pty Ltd as its builder to carry out the Council works. However, all contractual obligations concerning the Council works rest with the developer, and Council is not a party to the building contract.

Due to the size and nature of the project, Council is not able to be the principal certifier for this project, and the developer has appointed a private certifier for this purpose. The private certifier (not Council) is responsible for building and construction compliance.

The community space primarily consists of four rooms and is approximately 800m² in area. It is a flexible space which will be able to accommodate up to 200 people (indoor and outdoor) and will be available for a variety of uses including meetings, performances, conferences, social gatherings and exhibitions.

A community foyer / atrium will adjoin the community space with an area of approximately 780m², which is intended to be a public gathering area incorporating informal casual seating for users to relax, socialise and access wifi.

Council acquired the site for $3m in 2014.

Project costs for the development of the Council facilities is $20.9 million ($15.3m design and construction, $3.5m furniture fixtures and equipment and AV/IT, $2.1m contract variations).

To fund the Council facilities, Council received a $6m grant from National Stronger Regions Fund (Federal Government), $6m from Enyoc ($3.3m works -in-kind and $2.7m cash) with Council funding the remaining $8.9m.

In addition to providing a much-needed new library, customer service centre, visitor information centre and community space, it is expected that the provision of the Council facilities will enhance the economic, social and recreational wellbeing of the surrounding district. In addition, development of the ‘residual land’ (ie areas of the site not required for the Council facilities) by the Developer for residential, commercial and business purposes will complement the Council facilities and boost the local economy, generate employment and activate the site.

Whilst there is no restriction on Council being both landowner and consent authority in connection with the project, we have given serious consideration to the possibility of a conflict of interest arising. To minimise any potential conflict of interest arising, Council has appointed numerous advisors and consultants to assist with the project (including probity, legal, planning, quantity surveying, design and financial).

Importantly in connection with the development planning process (that Council would ordinarily be involved in as the consent authority), we have taken the following additional steps: appointment of an independent planning expert to review the Planning Proposal request from the Developer and prepare all necessary reports associated with that Planning Proposal (including the Planning Proposal itself). The NSW Government has been responsible for making a determination in connection with the Planning Proposal and ultimately varying the relevant planning control; and appointment of a second independent planning expert to review any DA lodged for the project and prepare a report for consideration by the Joint Regional Planning Panel (JRPP). The JRPP was then responsible for determining the DA and issuing the Development Approval.

The development will provide new Council facilities, residential, accommodation, retail, commercial and employment uses while delivering greater diversity and increased housing supply in the Forster Town Centre. It will encourage Forster to grow and provide impetus for further investment.

The development will facilitate the creation of approximately 236 jobs on site during construction and approximately 260 jobs on site on an on-going basis after completion of the whole development. Wages generated from these permanent jobs is expected to contribute around $15.1m every year to the local economy.

Total spend in Forster-Tuncurry generated by new residents on site is expected to be around $3.4m per annum. This development will also stimulate further interest and investment in the Forster-Tuncurry area.

The existing library simply cannot meet the demands of the expanding population in the area and the option to expand the existing library is not viable.

Arrangements to provide a new library to service the Forster- Tuncurry area have been in train for many years (well before the merger of the three former Councils).

The opportunity to develop a new library in conjunction with other public facilities including a customer service centre, visitor information centre and community space will maximise economies of scale created by combining those facilities.

At the commencement of the procurement processes (back in 2015), Council engaged the services of a probity advisor to oversee the project to ensure that the process was transparent, fair, accountable and compliant with procurement requirements.

Throughout the procurement arrangements, the probity advisor provided sign-off at the various milestones and confirmed the authenticity of the arrangements and that probity considerations have been addressed.

The Council facilities within the Centre are scheduled to open to the public in October 2023.

The impetus for the civic centre project began some ten years ago with two events. In 2007, the Forster School of Arts Hall had become unsafe for continued community use and was decommissioned. This left our community without valuable meeting space in the Forster CBD.

At around the same time, it was becoming apparent to the community that the Great Lakes Library building was an inadequate size - only half the NSW Library minimum recommended size for the community it serves.

The former Great Lakes Council began to investigate and plan for meeting these needs after the community indicated very emphatically this was a high priority for them.

In addition, Forster's Visitor Information Centre building was in need of expensive maintenance.

The land on which the Visitor Information Centre and the former Forster School of Arts Hall stood became the focus for a plan for the civic precinct, which would also house a new, larger library for the community. Initial plans were developed, but the small site required an expensive underground car park, and Council was seeking funding to undertake this project. It was ultimately determined that the former School of Arts site was not adequate to house the project and the focus turned to other suitable sites.

The site, located on the corner of Lake, West and Middle Streets, was acquired with the intent of utilising part of the land for the Council facilities and exploring commercial opportunities for the development of the rest of the land.

This strategic purchase for $3 million allowed the development of community facilities with improved car parking options. Council had resolved to invest $6 million to build the community facilities. Very soon after this purchase, Council was successful in obtaining Federal grant funding of $6 million, matched dollar for dollar by Council. This exciting development meant we could now build a $12 million community facility on the civic precinct site.

In 2015, Council resolved to investigate the possibility of entering into a commercial arrangement with a developer to allow a mix of private and public use of this valuable site close to Forster's CBD. After seeking expressions of interest from the market for the project, Council entered into an agreement with Enyoc, who will provide Council with $6 million in-kind towards building the community facilities for the project - a great outcome for MidCoast ratepayers. The total cost of the Project will be approximately $18 million.

The planning proposal was approved by the NSW Department of Planning and Environment in August 2017 and conditional approval of development application by the Joint Regional Planning Panel occurred on 20 September 2017.

A development agreement has been entered into between Enyoc and Council for the design and construction of community facilities, which include a modern library space, new visitor information centre and flexible community space. The agreement also allows for the residual of the site to be developed by Enyoc for commercial purposes, over several stages, which include facilities such as seniors living apartments, retail shops, supermarket, hotel and a gymnasium.

With the decision to relocate central Council office functions to one head office at Yalawanyi Ganya, Biripi Way Taree, the Forster Civic Precinct will now also contain the MidCoast Council customer service centre in addition to the facilities outlined above.

The JRPP resolved that separate development consent should be sought for a proposed cinema, nightclub and child care centre, which was not granted approval as part of the recent approval.

You can read the full decision on JRPP's website page.

A modification to the original development application was approved by the Hunter and Central Coast Regional Planning Panel in August 2021.

This modification allowed for changes to the residential aspect of the development, and did not impact on the community facilities the project will provide.

Details of the modification approval can be found here.

On 8 August 2017 Council entered into a development agreement with Developer Enyoc Pty Ltd (as trustee for the Graham Dong Family Trust) which provides that the Developer will carry out and complete the design and construction of certain Council works at the Civic Centre site in Forster (corner of Lake, West and Middle Streets). Council’s works comprise the construction of a new library, visitor information centre, customer service point and flexible community space.

The development agreement requires the Developer to complete the Council works (at the Developer’s risk and cost) in return for consideration of $15.3 million (plus GST). Payments are made to the Developer progressively under the agreement on a monthly basis having regard to the works undertaken at the time of each progress claim. Prior to each monthly payment, the claim is assessed by an independent certifier to confirm that the value of the works claimed have been completed.

The Developer has engaged Global Construction Corporation Pty Ltd as its builder to carry out the Council works. However, all contractual obligations concerning the Council works rest with the Developer, and Council is not a party to the building contract.

Due to the size and nature of the project, Council is not able to be the Principal Certifier for this project, and the Developer has appointed a private certifier for this purpose. The private certifier (not Council) is responsible for building and construction compliance.

Council has secured $6 million in funding from the Federal Government as part of the National Stronger Regions Fund towards the Council works and payments are made by the Federal Government to Council on a progressive basis (based on the achievement of milestones).