With the recent fires raging not so far from the Central Coast, now is the time to make sure we are all fully prepared for the bushfire season officially underway.Council, the Rural Fire Service (RFS) and Fire and Rescue NSW have a range of tools and documents to help you Prepare, Act, Survive.

Residents in Point Frederick, East Gosford, North Gosford and Springfield can expect cleaner water as Central Coast Council undertakes ice pigging works over a three week period from Thursday 1 December 2016.Council’s Coordinator Water and Sewer Civil Works, Joe Weston, said that the works are an important part of Council’s water mains cleaning program to prevent discoloured water.“Ice pigging involves pumping a thick slurry of ice through the water mains to clean off any sediment and other particles that may build up over time and discolour our water,” said Mr Weston.“It’s a fairly new procedure that Council helped bring into Australia and is very effective as well as environmentally friendly.“During the ice pigging process residents may experience temporary decreases in water pressure and interruptions to their water supply.

Last week, the Somersby Water Treatment Plant was the final location to turn solar power on as part of Council’s solar energy project.Since October 2015, over 1,700 solar panels (totalling 455kW in capacity) have been installed across several Council facilities including the Erina Depot, Peninsula Leisure Centre, Central Coast Stadium, Niagara Park Sports Stadium, Gosford Regional Gallery, Laycock Street Community Theatre and the Somersby Water Treatment Plant.Administrator, Ian Reynolds said the development is part of Council’s Climate Change Mitigation Strategy.“Our analysis showed that it’s more cost effective for Council to install solar systems at these locations than to purchase electricity solely from the grid,” said Mr Reynolds.“We were able to generate greater value from the project by using the solar electricity on site to offset high daytime peak and shoulder rates.”The $910,000 project, which received $360,000 in funding under the Renewable Energy Target, will reduce electricity costs at each of the project sites by approximately 10 percent - saving ratepayers more than $65,000 a year.It also generates about 620MWh of renewable energy per annum, saving 520 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions (equivalent to the electricity consumed by nearly 100 local homes).“We hope the cost savings and benefits obtained by switching to solar will inspire local businesses and residents to follow in our footsteps,” he said.

If you can’t stand the heat in your kitchen this summer, why not get out to eat in one of the Central Coast’s many great restaurants.As the festive season kicks into gear, restaurants across the Central Coast are preparing for a busy period and restauranteur and chef Alessandro Cigola of Osteria A Mano is no exception.“The great thing for Central Coast residents is that there are so many good restaurants across the Coast now, and there is a real variety of places to go,” Alessandro said.A proud participant in the This is the life marketing campaign promoting the Central Coast, Alessandro loves living and raising his young family in our beautiful Central Coast region.“With my one year old son, we love going to the beach and enjoying the bushland areas in our leisure time,” Mr Cigola said.  “It is a really beautiful area, and also close to everything we need.”“There’s a growing sophistication in food on the Central Coast.

Central Coast Council will reveal preliminary plans for Scenic Highway Terrigal at a public meeting to be held in the coming weeks.Immediately following the tragic accident that claimed the life of Annabelle Deall in early August, Council inspected the site and started a detailed review of the road.The draft plans, which include improved pedestrian facilities and roadworks designed to slow down traffic, were shown to Federal Member for Robertson, Mrs Lucy Wicks, in late August so she could begin the process to secure federal government black spot funding.Council’s CEO Mr Rob Noble said Council understands and is empathetic to community concerns and is working on designing a plan for this area.“This was a terrible, terrible tragedy, and my heart goes out to Annabelle’s family,“ Mr Noble said.“We have been refining the initial plans and are now in a position to share them with the local community, who have been galvanised by this tragedy.“Driver education and pedestrian awareness remains a key component of reducing fatalities of pedestrians and drivers alike on our roads.  We will continue to partner with the NSW Police in their endeavours to achieve a zero road toll across NSW.”Council will secure the services of an independent facilitator to run a public meeting near the site, possibly at the Cowrie restaurant itself, before the end of the year with details to be revealed shortly.

Laycock Street Community Theatre has announced its much anticipated 2017 season at a VIP launch last night, unveiling the national productions and professional theatre on offer to Central Coast audiences in the year ahead.Council’s Section Manager Arts & Culture, Chris King says the sparkling new season is designed to connect audiences with live theatre in a meaningful and exhilarating way.“The 2017 season brings together acclaimed touring productions, household names and quality children’s theatre, to engage and provoke audiences of all ages, backgrounds and inclinations,” said Mr King.“From trailblazing Bell Shakespeare’s uncompromising production of Merchant of Venice, to twisted tales of drama and gothic horror when Dracula swoops the region, contrasted to the beauty and intrigue of Melbourne City Ballet’s interpretation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, to the comedy genius of Shirley Valentine and the glitz and glamour of Prada’s Priscillas — our 2017 season offers something for everyone.“Laycock is also delighted to applaud Gosford Musical Society’s productions for 2017 which include Broadway favourites Evita and Chicago, and for younger patrons Peter Pan and Bring it On.“Substantial theatre member discounts are being offered for all season and Gosford Musical Society shows.

Central Coast Council has drafted new planning controls to promote development to revitalise the Gosford CBD and create a living city.The amendments to the Gosford Development Control Plan (GDCP) will provide opportunities for growth of the commercial centre of the CBD while ensuring that Kibble Park remains an attractive sunny space for the community to enjoy.

Did you know Australia generates more than 140,000 tonnes of electronic waste per year?Most of this e-waste ends up in landfill, when at least 90 per cent of the materials used to create these items can be recovered and reused.To help residents recycle these items, Central Coast Council will be holding a free e-waste collection weekend at the Gosford Showground on Saturday 26 November and Sunday 27 November 2016.Open between 9am and 4pm on both days, the event is open to everyone – with commercial quantities also accepted.The drop off day targets every day household items such as televisions, computers, DVD players and other items people find difficult to dispose of in an environmentally friendly way.Items that will be accepted as part of the e-waste drop off include:Computers, monitors, notebooks, printers, fax machines, scanners, CD drives, hard drives, keyboards, mice and printer cartridges;Televisions, VCR players, DVD players, projectors;Electronic games/toys, stereos, cameras, video cameras, iPods and MP3 players;

Central Coast Council is looking to increase its direct funding for tourism marketing for the Central Coast and will seek to engage an organisation to deliver on a three year regional strategy.Council’s Administrator, Mr Ian Reynolds, said that the timing was right for Council to examine its approach to tourism.“Destination NSW’s new regional tourism model and the projected population growth expected on the Central Coast has changed the tourism landscape.

Council increases tourism marketing fundingCouncil is looking to increase its direct funding for tourism marketing for the Central Coast and will seek to engage an organisation to deliver on a three year regional strategy.See Separate Media ReleaseCouncil laying the groundwork for a Central Coast Local Environmental PlanWork is now underway to prepare one consolidated Local Environmental Plan (LEP) to guide future development across the Central Coast.Currently there are four planning instruments applying to the Central Coast, each with different planning controls.  The Wyong Local Environmental  Plan 2013 is the local planning instrument for the north and the Gosford Local Environmental Plan 2014, Gosford Interim Development Order and Gosford Planning Scheme apply in the southern areas.