But Jerry Schwartz says he has been forced to walk away from the region because he is unable to work with Cessnock City Council. 

The hotel magnate said he had initially planned to invest a significant proportion of the $70 million that he has just used to purchase the twin-tower Hilton at Surfers Paradise in the Hunter. 

“I love the Hunter Region but Cessnock council doesn’t seem interested in working with me; in fact they seem to want me to go away. I’ve been left with no option but to invest elsewhere,” Dr Schwartz said.

He owns hotels in Newcastle and the Hunter Valley, including Crown Plaza Hunter Valley.

He also recently began work on the restoration of the former Newcastle post office.

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Among the projects that Cessnock council has rejected was a hanger adjacent to the Cessnock Airport which Dr Schwartz wants to use as a hub for his seaplane venture. 

It also rejected a proposal to relocate an old exhibition centre on the basis of a rezoning incompatibility. 

He estimates the council has rejected about $10 million worth of potential investment from him in recent years.

Dr Schwartz has agreed to resubmit the plans but has vowed to take the matter to the Land and Environment Court if it is rejected again. 

“I work with councils across the state. Blue Mountains Council is fantastic, they understand the value of tourism investment. Sydney is also quite efficient considering the amount of applications they receive,” he said.

A Cessnock City Council spokeswoman said every development application submitted to the council was assessed in accordance with relevant regulations.

“Council staff have worked with and assisted the proponent with advice throughout various development applications and will continue to do so,” she said. 

“We are supporters of tourism operators in the Cessnock Local Government Area who are vital to our local economy and assess each development application lodged on its merits.”

She said council refused an earlier application seeking to incorporate an aircraft hanger into an approved hotel development, which was approved under Development Consent No. 2006/267.

She said the application was refused because insufficient information had been submitted to allow a full assessment including an inability to gain owner’s consent to engage in a Section 88b easement for right of carriageway over an adjoining property and the inability to gain owner’s consent for works required over adjoining land