Development of a food manufacturing innovation hub on the Central Coast, funded by the federal government, has been delayed by at least sic months after a key development partner withdrew, just as the government formalised its $17.2 million funding commitment.
The Central Coast Food Manufacturing Innovation Hub features a “fully functioning and equipped pilot facility and skills development centre that drives industry collaboration and innovation and develops the skills of business owners, managers, employees and contractors”, according to a report submitted to a Central Coast Council meeting on June 27.
In the run up to the last federal election, Industry and Science minister Ed Husic committed $17.2 million to a Central Coast Food Manufacturing Precinct and Innovation Hub in Lisarow, on the Central Coast north of Sydney.
After progress on the Central Coast Food Manufacturing Precinct stalled, industry cluster and innovation hub proponent and Central Coast Industry Connect (CCIC) was forced to find a new development site, with the manufacturer overseeing the development of the precinct having fallen on tough financial times.
When the money was $17.2 million grant was committed to in the October 2022-23 federal budget, construction work on the Central Coast Food Manufacturing Innovation Hub was expected to begin in the first half of 2023.
The CCIC has now signed a 30-year business development lease with the Central Coast council in Ourimbah. A new development application will need to be submitted, with a decision expected around late November or early December.
While new floor plans need to be drawn for construction, the scope of the innovation hub remains the same, and the development is expected to remain within the original budget.
The $17.2 million grant covers construction, building fit-out, equipment installation, and will contribute to initial operational costs.
In-kind contributions worth $1.2 million have been committed by the University of Newcastle, other industry partners, Regional Development Central Coast, and the CCIC. The federal Greater Cities Commission has also committed $380,000 to the hub.
The industry cluster approached the council to help identify a suitable site close to research and training partner, the University of Newcastle, and to food manufacturing business already concentrated in the Ourimbah-Berkeley Vale area.
On August 27, Mr Husic amended the legislative instrument that enabled the grant funding to change reference to the location of the project from “in Lisarow” to “on the Central Coast”.
The grant agreement for the hub was eventually signed with Central Coast Industry Connect on August 30. While the grant contract runs until September 7, 2026, the development must be complete by the end of March 2026.
The industry cluster secured land from the Central Coast Council on a 30-year lease with concessional rental terms. The land is at Ourimbah, roughly a five-minute drive away from the University of Newcastle’s Ourimbah Campus.
An investigation lease period to allow for due diligence of the development site will end by June 30, 2024. The CCIC will not pay rent for the first 10 years, while the following decade will be a transition period in which rent will be incrementally increased towards market rate.
Rent will be paid at market rate in the final decade of the lease. Other ongoing fees will be paid by the CCIC pro-rata.
Development of the hub will be undertaken in three stages, with the first involving establishment of a skills centre and training programs. Building construction and installation of pilot facilities will then follow before the pilot facility can begin to be used for product development, contract manufacturing, and to support the skills centre.
The CCIC does not have a figure for the multiplier effect the project will have on the regional economy but estimates it will generate 200 jobs directly. A business case was completed in 2021 with funding support from Australia’s food industry growth centre Food Innovation Australia. The business case received support from food manufacturers Sanitarium, Mars Food, Sara Lee, and Agrana, which have operations locally.
According to the NSW food and beverage manufacturing industry development strategy, the state has the largest food and beverage manufacturing business in Australia, valued at $30.1 billion in sales and service income in 2016-17. It also noted that “food is the largest component of the NSW manufacturing industry”.
