Central Coast Council (New South Wales)


The Central Coast Council is a local government area serving the Lower Hunter area and the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia, established on 12 May 2016 following the amalgamation of Gosford City and Wyong Shire councils.
The council comprises an area of and is bounded to the east by the Tasman Sea, to the south by Broken Bay and the Hawkesbury River, and to the west by the Yengo National Park northwards to before heading eastward along George Downes Drive, encompassing the Olney State Forest and crossing the Pacific Motorway, meeting the southern edge of Lake Macquarie at and eventually reaching the coast north of. As at the the council area had an estimated population of.
The current Mayor of the Central Coast Council is Lisa Matthews, who was elected on 23 September 2019.

Suburbs and localities

The local government area includes a moderately densely populated coastal strip that extends northward from the Hawkesbury River and is bounded by the Pacific Motorway to the west, and an extensive sparsely-populated region to the west of the motorway that is largely native bush. The towns and villages located within Central Coast Council are:

Demographics

At the 2016 Census the population of the Central Coast local government area was 327,736.

Council

From amalgamation on 12 May 2016 to September 2017, the Central Coast Council area was administered by Ian Reynolds, with former Wyong Shire Acting General Manager Rob Noble appointed as Interim General Manager and Gosford City General Manager Paul Anderson appointed Deputy General Manager.
The Council comprises fifteen Councillors elected proportionally, with three Councillors elected in five wards. Councillors are elected for a fixed four-year term of office, with the first term to last for three years. The Mayor is elected by Councillors for a period of two years, the Deputy Mayor is elected for one year.

Current composition

The most recent election was held on 9 September 2017, and the makeup of the Council by order of election, is as follows: