2023 in review – July

The committee will meet with members of Save Our Sand at Wamberal

July is in the spotlight as we continue our series on the top Central Coast news stories of 2023.

Concerns over an offshore wind farm continued to grow and Yes rallies started to take place in the lead-up to the October referendum on an Indigenous Voice to parliament.

Council released a floodplain risk management study and plan for the Woy Woy Peninsula and also approved its operational plan for the next year.

Opposition to shark netting ramped up as the Department of Primary Industries called for tenders for the coming season and it was announced that a wind farm would no longer be located off the Central Coast but would be situated further north between Swansea and Port Stephens.

Council began refining its design for the Gosford waterfront redevelopment and Busways and Red Bus Services were elected to deliver bus services for the Central Coast for a further eight years following a tender process.

A cloud continued to remain over the future of the Empire Bay Boatshed and Verde Terra applied for special leave to appeal to the High Court of Australia on a ruling relating to the Mangrove Mountain landfill.

The Coast was home to 13 pairs of nesting osprey

The Coast was home to 13 pairs of nesting osprey, and it was mooted that the Vales Point power station at Mannering Park could stay open for four years beyond its scheduled closure in 2029.

Opposition to a seawall at Wamberal ramped up as geotechnical investigations of the beach began and the Legacy Centenary Torch Relay passed through Gosford on its way around the world.

Booths Motors in Gosford changed hands after more than 80 years when it was sold to Central Auto Group.

A number of seals were spotted on Central Coast waterways and the site of the former Nissen hut at Ourimbah, razed due to safety concerns, was returned to the community by Newcastle University.

The Ettalong foreshore was vandalised and the German and English national women’s rugby sides arrived on the Central Coast to begin training for the FIFA women’s World Cup.