Images depicting rollercoasters, illuminated displays and futuristic buildings at Old Sydney Town have intensified a dispute over plans for the long-abandoned attraction.
The original concept was abandoned in 2020, but campaigners remain angry about a revised proposal featuring tourist attractions, a hotel, restaurants and approximately 256 homes.
Developer World Cultural Tourism Village (WCTV) said the striking images do not represent the substantially smaller project now being considered by planners.
Lisa Bellamy, president of the Kariong Progress Association, described the abandoned concept as a “Chinese Disneyland” and questioned whether WCTV could deliver the tourism precinct outlined in the current proposal.
A WCTV spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia that the description relied on outdated concept material and did not reflect the proposal currently before planners.
The revised development remains contentious after Central Coast councillors voted to refer it to the NSW Department of Planning, despite council planning officers recommending that it not proceed in its present form.
The Independent Local Planning Panel also advised against the proposal as it currently stands.
The WCTV spokeswoman reiterated that the “Chinese Disneyland” characterisation was based on obsolete designs rather than the planning application now under consideration.
Earlier renders of the proposed development were removed after a local campaigner said they looked like “Chinese Disneyland”
New renders released by WCTV show a development that has been significantly reduced in scale
Kariong Progress Association president Lisa Bellamy said councillors had dismissed concerns from the council’s own planning experts, who advised against the project in its current form
“The images referenced are screenshots from a video produced in 2020 under the former project management team as part of an early conceptual exercise,” she said.
“They showed preliminary ideas that have since been abandoned and are not included in the current planning proposal.”
The images have since been removed from WCTV’s website, although it is not clear precisely when they were taken down.
The spokeswoman said the material was removed because it had created confusion over the development now proposed for the site.
Old Sydney Town opened in 1975 as a recreation of colonial Sydney, but closed in 2003 before falling into disrepair.
WCTV, which is controlled by Tao Sun and Wenbiao Li, purchased the property for $20 million in 2018.
Campaigners say Central Coast councillors “sold out” the community by voting to advance the proposal despite strong local opposition.
Bellamy said councillors had failed to heed concerns raised by the council’s own planning specialists.
Then-prime minister Gough Whitlam opened Old Sydney Town on Australia Day in 1975
The 1800s-themed park closed in 2003 after suffering from low visitor numbers and financial difficulties
Jack Cassar, far left, pictured with his father and one of Old Sydney Town’s original actors, centre
“What evidence is there that they can deliver this project, or that they have ever operated a comparable tourism attraction?” she said.
“Don’t push the Trojan horse through the gateway. It is a Chinese Disneyland.”
Asked by Daily Mail Australia to identify a tourism attraction previously developed or operated by its directors, WCTV instead pointed to the experience of its broader team and Australian advisers.
“The team brings considerable investment experience, including in major property, tourism and hotel projects,” the spokeswoman said.
“WCTV has appointed leading Australian advisers in planning, architecture, heritage, landscape architecture, engineering and tourism, and plans to engage experienced operators for the individual tourism components as the project advances.”
Local resident Jack Cassar has led the Bring Back Old Sydney Town campaign, which has spent more than 14 years calling for the site to be restored as a heritage tourism destination.
He accused councillors of disregarding community opposition by advancing a foreign-owned company’s plans for housing and what he described as a “weird-looking modern amusement park”.
“As soon as their plans were made public recently, the company took the pictures down and closed that section of its website. Sketchy as,” he wrote on social media.
Australian Reptile Park co-founder Tim Faulkner said the park had already signed agreements with the site’s Chinese owners following years of negotiations
“It is one thing for elected leaders not to listen to the people they promised to represent faithfully — unfortunately, we are used to that. But it is another thing entirely to sell us out.”
Daily Mail asked Central Coast Council to respond to claims that councillors had held private discussions with the developer.
The council did not directly address the allegation, saying: “We don’t have anything else to say at this stage.”
Tim Faulkner, managing director of the Australian Reptile Park, said the attraction had signed agreements with WCTV’s owners after years of negotiations and supported the proposal “unconditionally”.
“We’ve watched an amazing property next door deteriorate into what it is today,” he said.
“As the Central Coast’s largest tourism operator and an Australian icon, this is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for us, for tourism and for the Central Coast.
“As a long-standing tourism operator, we want more people to visit, stay longer and spend money locally.”
Central Coast councillor Doug Eaton said major tourism developments in the greater Sydney region and beyond had relied on residential development to support them
Central Coast councillor Doug Eaton said the proposal would generate substantial investment, employment and housing.
“If you include the Reptile Park, which stands to benefit from the proposal, we would have a tourist precinct worth about a quarter of a billion dollars, creating 579 jobs,” he said.
“There has been no major tourism development in the greater Sydney region or beyond that has not had residential development supporting it.”
The proposal will now go before the NSW Department of Planning, which will decide whether it advances to the next stage of assessment.