These houses were sinking into the ocean. Now a council wants to fix it

Infrastructure, environment and development applications are the top priorities for a new team of Central Coast councillors after a four-year administration period they say frustrated residents and locked them out of community decision-making.

Councillor Belinda Neal, a former Labor senator and federal MP, said that “democratically elected representatives” had already proven themselves to be better community advocates than administrators.

Coastal erosion at Wamberal Beach is a significant environmental issue to be tackled by the new council. Credit: Nick Moir

“There was a substantial period where the community felt ignored,” said Neal. “There’s been a lot of decisions made about developments on the coast where the community wasn’t really engaged.”

The administration was put in place after revelations that the council was operating under an $89 million deficit and was unable to pay staff. The council was suspended and councillors’ roles terminated between 2020 and 2022, with a new council elected last September.

During administration, the council was the most complained-about in the state, with Neal saying that the demolition of the Gosford Library, which held “architectural value and cultural value”, as well as the sale of council-owned land, had aggravated residents.

“I think the community and individuals in the community are just pleased that they can actually talk to someone, have their views, consider them and get information back, which for some years they weren’t able to,” she said.

First-time independent councillor Kyla Daniels said that infrastructure and economic growth were key priorities, but that she was also concerned about environmental issues such as dredging of Tuggerah Lakes and coastal erosion at Wamberal Beach which has threatened homes and livelihoods.

She said the community “haven’t had a voice for a lot of years and I think that it’s about time we were able to voice the opinions of the people.

“The community does have some issues that need addressing, but they seem very pleased that they now have somewhere to go to have somebody handle their issues,” she said.

Jared Wright, a Liberal councillor from the Gosford East ward, said the new council, having reduced its debt from $350 million to $200 million during administration, could focus on reducing the remainder of the debt and preparing for the future.

Central Coast councillor Kyla Daniels.

“This will be the first budget [since 2020] that the councillors get to set, which, I think, is quite exciting,” said Wright. “There is still more to be done to bolster our financial platform. This includes reprioritising spending and looking at ways to draw more income from council assets.”

While Wright was optimistic about the financial position the council was in, he said that the biggest issue facing the council would be a significant development application backlog. Central Coast Council ranks 116th in the state for DA assessment times, with the average taking 154 days.

“Key priorities will also include lowering DA approvals, improving local infrastructure including roads and working towards increasing housing supply across the Central Coast,” said Wright.

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