Central Coast Council’s $15 million upgrade to the Wyong South wastewater treatment plant has reached another important milestone.Council’s Manager of Wyong Water Commercial and Planning, Mr Greg Cashin said the new inlet structure was now fully operational.“Wyong South treatment plant receives wastewater from a wide area - spanning from Watanobbi and Wadalba in the north to Ourimbah in the South and to Berkeley Vale and Tumbi Umbi in the east,” said Mr Cashin.“This equates to about 11 million litres of wastewater entering the plant every day.“Transferring the flow of wastewater from the old inlet structure to the new one is no mean feat.

Summer signals the end of another school year and the start of a big stretch of holidays, when many of our kids like to get out and about and enjoy the extra time with their friends and family.As the Coast is a popular holiday spot, there will be more people at our facilities and on the roads as local children enjoy the outdoors, families get extra visitors and tourists flock to the region.Council is again joining forces with the Little Blue Dinosaur Foundation (LBDF) to help promote its important road safety campaign:

A small section of Yarramalong Road in Wyong Creek will be reduced to single-lane to allow for works to be undertaken to stabilise a rock cutting damaged during the storms in June.Retaining Specialists Pty Ltd will be repairing rock face at a site approximately 100 metres west of 1146 Yarramalong Road on behalf of Council starting on Monday 12 December.One lane of the road will be closed, with traffic controls in place.

Central Coast Council is delivering key infrastructure projects on time and on budget according to a progress report presented at last week’s Council meeting.Roads, water, drainage and community facilities were the big ticket items in the first ever Central Coast Council Operational Plan, adopted on 29 June 2016 which outlined its annual spend, including management of more than $11 billion of assets.Council’s Administrator Mr Reynolds acknowledged the vision and hard work of the former Councils that have carried over into the new Council with a focus on delivering projects the community need, want and value.“We’ve reached some major milestones, including the opening of Bato Yard skate park in August, which has already attracted three majoring sporting events to the Coast, and the construction of shared pathway to connect locals with this new park,” Mr Reynolds said.“The Art House opening in May – was in fact one of my very first tasks as Administrator here and was the realisation of a long term dream and then plan by the former Wyong Shire Council.“The $8 million redevelopment of Woy Woy Oval grandstand has also added to the sporting infrastructure on the Coast.“An $8.25 million project to install a new odour control system at the Wyong South wastewater treatment plant will help secure the water supply to the growing population in the north of the Coast.”Central Coast Council manages some 2000 kilometres of roads and has completed a wide range of road works since the amalgamation.

Crowne Plaza at Terrigal is the new venue for a public meeting to review potential road works in part of Scenic Highway on Monday 19 December 2016.The public meeting will commence at 5.30pm, will be run by an independent facilitator, and be held at the Forresters Room at the Crowne Plaza.The venue for the public meeting has been changed to better accommodate the number of interested community members expected to attend.

Drainage and irrigation upgrade works are underway at a number of popular sporting fields around the Central Coast.Gavenlock Oval, Rogers Park, Chittaway Oval and Baker Park will all have new systems in place by the end of the summer season.Council’s Administrator, Ian Reynolds said the new systems will assist our sporting fields in dealing with extreme weather conditions“The new drainage and irrigation will allow playing surfaces to recover much quicker after rain periods, significantly reducing ground closures and helping to maintain a quality playing surface for the entire season.“It will reduce maintenance costs moving forward and importantly, it will assist with the maintenance of surfaces during long periods of dry weather - with a highly effective and efficient irrigation system.”Works at Gavenlock Oval, Baker Park and Chittaway Oval have been completed in partnership with Central Coast Football - who contributed $140,000 to the projects.Central Coast Football’s Chief Executive Officer, Darren Sprod said the partnership with Council was important for the local football community.“As a major user of council sporting grounds it is important that we partner and invest with council to deliver better facilities for our footballers,” said Mr Sprod.“We have worked with council to have drainage installed at a number of grounds over the past few years and are seeing the benefits in reduced downtime after rain events.”“This year we are investing in Gavenlock Oval, Baker Park and Chittaway Oval to assist council in completing these important works.”Mr Reynolds added that the oval upgrades are an excellent example of Council working with the community to achieve a common goal.“Central Coast Football has been exceptional during the duration of this project and I’d like to thank Darren and his team for their support,” Mr Reynolds said.“The working relationship we have with Central Coast Football is invaluable as we continue to develop and improve sporting infrastructure across the region.”Works have been finalised at Chittaway Oval, while the Rogers Park upgrade is currently underway, with Baker Park scheduled for completion in early February.

A day out on the water with Tim Conway at Central Coast Ferries and his friendly companion Milo the chocolate Labrador is a day to remember.Tim is a seventh generation ship’s captain whose family has been operating ferry services on Central Coast waters for 25 years.With the opportunity to be on the water every day, well, Tim nails it when he says "there’s something about being on the water – the sights and smells.

A new mural depicting unity and our local sporting history has been installed at the recently redeveloped Woy Woy Oval.From Wednesday 14 December, passers-by and spectators visiting the Oval can expect to see the eye-catching community project, which has taken more than eight months to produce and over six weeks to construct.Measuring 36 metres long and three metres high, the installation is made up of 24 colour printed steel panels that, when constructed, feature a pelican symbol surrounded by approximately 100 original photographs of the Peninsula’s sport culture over the past 65 years.In February 2016, more than 1,200 primary school children from Woy Woy Public School, Umina Beach Public School and St John the Baptist Catholic School united on Woy Woy Oval to create the pelican symbol.

We love our sport on the Central Coast and we’re home to a talented and vibrant sporting community at all levels.Council is committed to providing the best facilities and playing surfaces year-round, and we have been carrying out a comprehensive maintenance and improvement program to ensure the best quality grounds for local sport.Sporting fields have been resurfaced, rejuvenated, returfed and regraded as part of a range of works from Woy Woy to Woongarrah.The works will assist our sporting codes during the summer, while also preparing playing surfaces for next year’s demanding winter season.Significant rejuvenation works involving weed spraying, aeration, fertilisation and, in some cases, turfing has been done to meet the specific needs of each ground and the sports predominately played there.The benefits of these works have already been seen in locations across the region, with reductions in ground closures due to wet weather, faster recovery rates for playing surfaces and a decrease in the need for ongoing maintenance.Crews have been busy at Bill Sohier Park and EDSACC Oval with work also scheduled for Darren Kennedy, Blue Haven, Hamlyn Terrace, Wadalba, Woongarrah and Jubilee ovals over the coming weeks.The maintenance work has been focused on naturally improving drainage, increasing turf growth and improving drought tolerance.At McKillop, Kariong and Ettalong ovals, synthetic cricket wickets have also resurfaced.In addition, we have upgraded the carpark facilities at Hylton Moore Oval and recently finalised a community art installation at Woy Woy Oval.The new mural depicts unity and our local sporting history, overlooking the recently redeveloped sports field.Measuring 36 metres in length and three metres high, the mural is made up of 24 colour printed steel panels, featuring a pelican symbol surrounded by around 100 original photographs of the Peninsula’s sporting culture from the past 65 years.We have just finished major drainage and irrigation upgrade works at Gavenlock Oval, Rogers Park and Chittaway Oval, with works scheduled to start at Baker Park in January.The new systems will assist our sporting fields in dealing with extreme weather conditions and support quality playing surfaces for the entire season.It will also support the maintenance of surfaces during long periods of dry weather thanks to a highly effective and efficient irrigation system.The improvement works at Gavenlock Oval, Baker Park and Chittaway Oval have been completed in partnership with Central Coast Football - who contributed $140,000 to the projects.Works have been finalised at Chittaway Oval, while the Rogers Park upgrade is currently underway, with Baker Park scheduled to reopen in April.Across the Central Coast, we maintain more than 75 sports fields, 12 multi-purpose courts, three netball facilities and a wide range of other sporting facilities, such as a Disc Golf course.Investing in our sports grounds, facilities and amenities is a key priority of Council as it helps promote an active, healthy and connected community.

Central Coast Council has extended the public consultation period for new planning controls for the Gosford CBD until Friday January 20, 2017.The planning controls seeking to move the commercial core of the CBD to Kibble Park, create a living city and revitalise the CBD have generated a great deal of community interest.Council is planning on holding and information session on the Development Control Plan (DCP) in the New Year, with details to follow.The amended Gosford DCP can be viewed online at haveyoursaycentralcoast.com.au, under Items on Public Exhibition or at Council’s Office in Mann Street and Libraries.