Stay safe during this expected hot weather Coasties!

Council has completed the North Avoca Paths project, which has delivered a safer network of footpaths for locals and visitors walking, cycling or driving between three busy streets in North Avoca. The new pathways in View Street, Tramway Road and Elgata Avenue will provide increased connectivity and accessibility, while promoting active lifestyles which are important for community health and wellbeing.

🚘 WEEKLY ROAD WORKS UPDATE Each week, we have road work underway across the Coast to deliver improvements and maintenance works.

Council’s customer service centres will have service interruptions on Tuesday 12 December.Customer Service team's will be participating in a half day training opportunity to further improve our service. Temporary impacts to customer service hours for this day are as follows:Council Customer Service Centres – On Tuesday 12 December Erina location will be closed all day on 12 Dec, Wyong Administration Building service counter will be closed from 12.30pm, and Gosford and Woy Woy will close at 12pm.Customer service telephone service (02 4306 7900) 

Central Coast Council offices will be closed over the Christmas and New Year holiday period from Monday, 25 December 2023 to Monday 1 January 2024, and re-opening Tuesday 2 January 2024.Some of Council’s services and facilities will be closed or have changes, however essential services will continue to operate.Customer service and reporting of issuesAll Customer Service Centres will be closed.Urgent reports - We have an out-of-hours service available on 02 4306 7900 to call in any urgent reports such as water main breaks, sewer issues or urgent road safety issues (such as fallen trees over roads).Non-urgent - Customers can contact Council with non-emergency enquiries, requests, reporting issues or formal feedback 24/7 through our online Customer Service Centre.

On Sunday 3 December, we celebrated International Day of People with Disability, and using this occasion to raise local awareness and understanding of the challenges faced by people with a disability to help create a more accessible and inclusive region.Recently, Council collaborated with local pottery school Centered Ceramics, that offered people with disabilities the opportunity to learn pottery and ceramics in a mainstream commercial studio, and then exhibit their work in a public gallery.The local business learned how to make their premises and programs more accessible to attract customers with different access needs.

Basic pothole filling is the first level of maintenance as part the life cycle of our road network and to keep the road safe for the public.

As attention turns to the return of an elected body in September 2024, Council’s annual report for 2022-23 highlights an organisation that is financially stable and is making progress on delivering for the Central Coast community.The report, which was adopted by Administrator Rik Hart at November’s Ordinary Council Meeting is an important document that outlines the achievement of the organisation over the last 12 months.Some of the key highlights of 2022-23 include:Successfully delivering a surplus larger than forecastThe revitalisation and renewal of The Visitors Information Centre at The Entrance, complete with community space and accessible bathroomsSuccessfully secured $800,000 in federal funding to upgrade six local playspaces across the Central CoastDelivered an extended events calendar with more than 176,000 attendees and an injection of approximately $21 million into the local economyUpgraded 23km of sewer mains and 5.5km of water mainsRepaired 109,418 potholesThe Central Coast Regional Complex and Central Coast Stadium was chosen as a team base camp for two highly ranked international teams (Germany and England) ahead of the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023TMSupported the national Sport4All program as the first local government area to sign up in New South Wales.

Central Coast Council is tracking well with its annual Community Engagement Program with nearly 90 percent of projects having been actioned as forecasted.This high action rate on forecasted engagement activities shows that Council delivers on what it said it would for the community.Since July this year Council has been consulting with the community on a number of significant projects and received hundreds of comments and submissions through our online engagement platform and via face-to-face workshops and information sessions. There’s also been over 21,000 new visitors to our engagement platform Your Voice Our Coast.

If you’re a young aspiring photographer with a keen eye and love for the world around you, then Central Coast Council would love to hear from you.Entries for the second ever Your World Your Way Youth photography competition are open until Sunday 4 February 2024.This free-to-enter photography competition is open to young people aged 12-24 years with judges especially looking for photographic content that includes local locations and young people.During the celebrations of National Youth Week in April 2024 the top 20 shortlisted images will be printed, framed and showcased at the Erina Centre exhibition space and published on Council’s website.Exciting prizes include: Winner:

Central Coast Council is once again working with community leaders to initiate important conversations around domestic and family violence. The Central Coast consistently has one of the highest number of incidences of family and domestic violence compared to any other local government area* and is an issue we must all address head-on.

The magic of Christmas on the Coast returns from 24 November, with Town Centre Carols, larger than life Christmas trees, lights and bauble displays, and visits from Santa to ensure the Coast sparkles with Christmas fun.Discover a Christmas Wonderland in Gosford, Wyong, The Entrance and Toukley - designed to bring the community together and spread joy across the region.The much-loved Christmas tree and wreath installations return, as do sparkling decorations, all of which will be on display.A series of seasonal events and activities will be available for the public to enjoy, including DIY Christmas photos, Christmas Carols and other live entertainment, and of course, an opportunity to post a letter to Santa!The festivities kick off on Friday 24 November running until Sunday 7 January across the four Town Centres.Individual businesses are also getting into the Christmas spirit across the four Town Centres with a trail of Christmas window displays.Businesses located in Gosford, Wyong, The Entrance and Toukley are taking part in the festivities with a Christmas Window Display Competition.Visitors and residents are encouraged to plan a ‘window display’ trail and vote for their favourite via a QR code for a chance to win a $250 gift card.Voting opens 24 November and closes 7 January 2024 with the winners announced 10 January 2024.The Christmas activations will provide support and a boost for local businesses.We’ve got a fantastic month-long program of free events for families, shoppers and visitors to enjoy.Christmas calendar of events:Friday 24 November – Sunday 7 January - Across the four Town Centres Christmas Window Display CompetitionFreeSaturday 2 December – Sunday 24 December – The Village Green, Toukley Christmas photos and post a letter to Santa Refer to the program for timesFreeSaturday 2 December – Wyong High SchoolWyong Community Christmas Carols6-9pm Presented by Bendigo BankFreeSaturday 2 December – The Village Green, Toukley Tinsel Time in ToukleyPresented by Toukley Neighbourhood Centre 5-9pm FreeSunday 24 December – Kibble Park, Gosford Christmas Eve Community Carols Presented by Gosford Uniting Church6-9pm FreeSunday 24 December – Memorial Park, The Entrance Christmas Eve Carols in the ParkPresented by JC Entertainment6-9pm FreeTo find out more about Christmas on the Coast and other festive activities taking place this December, visit centralcoast.nsw.gov.au/Christmas

The 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence campaign runs every year from 25 November (International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women) to 10 December 2023 (Human Rights Day) raising awareness and educating the community on this important issue.The Central Coast consistently has one of the highest number of incidences of family and domestic violence compared to any other local government area*.Family, domestic and sexual violence occurs across all ages, socioeconomic and demographic groups but mainly affects women and children, Indigenous women, young women and pregnant women and people with a disability.Central Coast Council is once again working with the community, local leaders and organisations to develop a range of programs, projects and activities in support of the national campaign to initiate important conversations around domestic and family violence.Walk against Domestic and Family ViolenceWednesday 6 December, 10amStarts at the Anglican Church Gosford (7 Mann Street) to Kibble Park, GosfordPresented by the Central Coast Domestic Violence CommitteeCommunity members are encouraged to collect an orange shirt on the day to show support for this important campaign, before participating in the annual awareness raising walk around Kibble Park. There will also be guest speakers, live entertainment, information stalls and more.Art installation in Kibble Park 04 December – 13 DecemberVisitors to Kibble Park, Gosford may notice two dimensional houses suspended from a Jacaranda tree in Kibble Park.

To help keep the community and motorists travelling safely, we have crews out each week to deliver road improvements and maintenance works.

It was great to attend this year’s LGNSW Annual Conference from 12 – 14 November alongside Council’s CEO, David Farmer recently. The conference saw a high turnout of council representatives converging in Rosehill, NSW, where Councillors from all over the state debated and voted on key industry matters, and observed presentations by Members of Parliament (MPs), panellists, and other speakers. It’s clear that the key challenges for councils are largely consistent across the state.

Central Coast Council has completed the North Avoca paths project, which delivers an improved and safer network of continuous footpaths for pedestrians between View Street, Tramway Road and Elgata Avenue at North Avoca, benefiting locals and visitors travelling between the Scenic Highway, North Avoca shops and nearby beach.This multi-year project, made possible by grant funding of $4.3million by the Australian Government, with a Council contribution,  includes the construction of over 650 metres of continuous new footpaths, street drainage, retaining walls, street trees and kerb and gutter infrastructure as well as new road pavement and line marking, which benefits drivers as well as pedestrians.Projects such as this are extremely important as they benefit not only local residents, but also contribute to a better experience for visitors to the area – which in turn can benefit local businesses and the local economy.

Help ensure your furry friend will be reunited with you if they get lost by having your cat or dog microchipped for free on Saturday 18 November 2023. If you’re a local resident, we encourage you to bring your cat or dog to our Animal Care Facilities at Erina and Charmhaven, to be microchipped for free.

This year as part of National Water Week 16-22 October, Central Coast Council Water and Sewer encouraged the Central Coast community to take the leap towards water conservation through several community programs. These programs included the Primary School Poster Competition, Walter Smart and Friends School Performances and workshops (in which nine local schools got involved) and Water Night.In addition to local schools getting involved in the educational side of the week, there was a strong response to our National Water Week Primary School Poster Competition.

View the Accessible Beaches Central Coast brochure online or pick up a printed copy from Council's customer service centres at Gosford or Wyong, or one of our libraries.With an abundance of beautiful waterways on the Central Coast, heading to the beach is a way of life for many locals and a major drawcard for tourists.

The Central Coast has achieved a golden hat trick in the NSW state tourism awards!The Coast has cemented its place as a leading destination of choice in NSW, and it’s no wonder to locals that our beautiful beaches, stunning hinterland, unique town centres and leading hospitality offerings have received these accolades on the big stage. The Coast won three gold awards at the 2023 NSW Tourism Awards, powered by Business NSW and presented in partnership with the NSW Government and Destination NSW:Destination Central Coast managed by Central Coast Council won the Local Government Award for Tourism categoryThe Australian Reptile Park won the Major Tourist Attractions categoryCrowne Plaza Terrigal Pacific won the Business Event Venues category. The highly respected Gold Award is the third podium win for Council’s Marketing and Tourism team in the Local Government Award for Tourism category, with Council taking out Silver and Bronze in 2022 and 2021 respectively. I’d like to say a huge congratulations to the Council Marketing and Tourism team for their incredible achievements, and extend this congratulations to the Australian Reptile Park and Crowne Plaza Terrigal Pacific for their role in providing outstanding experiences for locals and visitors alike.Rik Hart, Administrator