Central Coast Council has made the difficult decision to cancel Love Lanes Festival scheduled for this Saturday 8 February due to the heavy rain forecast across the weekend.Loves Lanes Festival is primarily an outdoor event, with forecasted conditions on Saturday making it unsuitable to move forward with the event.Council is pleased to announce that a smaller scale version of the event will be held on Friday 6 March from 5-9pm with stalls, live entertainment, performances, activities and more.

Flanked by its iconic palm trees and unique three-sided design, Central Coast Stadium is about to ring in its 20th anniversary in style with the community invited to join in the celebrations.On Saturday 8 February the stadium will open its gates for a fun-filled day of celebration to mark this important milestone.The first 300 people to attend will receive free ice-cream and ‘chips on a stick’.

Central Coast Council’s ‘Chalk the Walk’ will see the pathways and open spaces at Waterfront Plaza at The Entrance transformed with an explosion of chalk art.Locals and visitors are invited to engage with an interactive pavement gallery featuring a large 3D artwork and an additional six pieces by renowned master street artist, Anton Pulvirenti, and a further 10 chalk masterpieces produced by local artists.Central Coast Council Unit Manager Community Partnerships, Glenn Cannard said ‘Chalk the Walk’ will be an exciting celebration of this unique form of street art.“People of all ages and interests will appreciate this great event that showcases the work of a master street artist and incredible local talent, Mr Cannard said.“Chalk art lets artists use the pavement as their canvas and sees physical spaces temporarily transformed in amazing ways.“Head down to The Entrance and experience this year’s chalk art  – interact with the art and enjoy the live music and entertainment throughout the day.”Mayor Lisa Matthews said Chalk the Walk will offer a number of different ways for the community to become part of the creative streetscape.“Children of all ages are free to go wild and express themselves on the chalkboard snake, and there’ll be an opportunity for 10 local artists to take part in the event,” Mayor Matthews said.“We invite the community to grab their cameras, head down to The Entrance and ‘strike a pose’ in front of some of the most creative artworks you will ever see on the pavement.”The free ‘Chalk the Walk’ event will be held on Saturday 22 February, 12-8pm.For more information visit centralcoast.nsw.gov.au/whatson/chalkthewalk

Central Coast Council has engaged an independent consultant to undertake an audit of the key decisions made regarding the development of Central Coast Airport.This review responds to Council’s decision made on 25 November 2019.Four projects have been identified as part of the review which will look at all decision making-processes to understand timelines, documentation, delegations and due diligence processes.The projects identified are:The project to establish a regional airport at Kiar RidgeThe proposal to develop an aviation hub at the Central Coast AirportActivities, including works and development applications lodged, by the current Council or former Wyong Shire Council relating to works at the Airport siteProcesses and decision-making relating the Airport and Wyong Employment Zone.Submissions close Tuesday 17 March 2020.

Central Coast Council welcomed 28 young people to its staff last week as part of its popular Early Career Pathways Program.At a special ceremony, Mayor Lisa Matthews welcomed the group and congratulated 15 others who successfully completed nationally recognised training programs with Council in 2019.During their 12 months with Council, university students complete an Undergraduate Program in areas as diverse as engineering to environmental sustainability and social science.

Today Mayor Lisa Matthews marked an exciting moment for current and future users of Garnet Adcock Memorial Park at West Gosford as the first sod was turned to signal commencement of construction on the first stage of the $26.2 million redevelopment of the site.Central Coast Council Director of Environment and Planning, Scott Cox said “Over the next 12 months the community will see the construction of a state-of-the art multi-purpose sportsground amenities building that will accommodate five of the seven sporting codes that utilise this regional facility.

With a hot dry summer ahead, Central Coast Council is urging residents and businesses to continue the water saving efforts that have helped delay the introduction of water restrictions.Since Council launched the “Live to 150L” campaign in September, thousands of people have visited the online water use calculator and other tools for tips on saving water.Live to 150L encourages everyone to use no more than 150 litres of water per person per day.

Central Coast Council is extremely disappointed in the alleged behaviour of a group of individuals that disturbed the Little Tern nesting site at Karagi Reserve, The Entrance North on Sunday 1 December 2019.

Council prepares for $70M Federal Government funding injection for Coast’s roadsCouncil has approved 29 road projects across the Central Coast that will be delivered with $70million in Federal Government funding committed in the lead up to the 2019 Federal Election.Projects selected will be delivered as part of the ‘Central Coast Roads Package’ and will focus on busting congestion and increasing safety.The significant scale of the funding package means that projects will be delivered over consecutive years starting in 2019-20 and continuing through to 2024-25.Mayor Lisa Matthews said she was pleased to see the Federal Government deliver on its promise to fund local road upgrades on the Coast.“This $70million funding injection from the Federal Government will allow Council to deliver projects the community have identified as priorities on the Coast,” Mayor Matthews said.“Roads are a key priority for Council too with more than $240million in projects delivered over the past three years.“Maintaining and developing our region’s extensive road network – spanning 2,200 kilometres – requires all levels of government to work together.“The ‘Central Coast Roads Package’ is an example of a funding commitment that will make a real difference for our region.”Community to have its say on amalgamation experienceCentral Coast Council has recommended that additional questions be included in the annual Customer Experience survey for residents to provide their views on the amalgamation of the former Wyong and Gosford Councils, their experience and their satisfaction of the LGA. Council also advised that in early 2020, it will report on the estimated costs involved in amalgamating the two former Councils.The report will also outline the progress on various aspects of the amalgamation and the associated expenditures.Council supports community with over $695,900 in grantsCouncil has allocated $695,984 in funding to successful applications for community grants.Council has allocated $631,022 of funding across four programs for Round 1 of the Community Grants Program 2019-20.

Residents across the region can learn more about their waterways and make a contribution to scientific knowledge with a series of innovative workshops to be delivered by Central Coast Council throughout summer.Citizen Science programs are an opportunity for the broader community to help scientists understand the local environment by providing valuable data and insights.