Central Coast

The Central Coast Council is a local government area in the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. It is adjacent to the Pacific Highway, Central Coast Highway, the Northern railway line and the Pacific Ocean. The council was formed on 12 May 2016 following the merger of the 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 . The Central Coast Council has over 40 beaches and over of coastline. As at the the council area had an estimated population of . The most recent Mayor of the Central Coast Council was Lisa Matthews (Labor), who was elected on 23 September 2019. On 30 October 2020, the Minister for Local Government, Shelley Hancock (Liberal), announced the immediate suspension of the elected council and the appointment of former senior public servant Dick Persson as the new interim Administrator. On 13 May 2021, Persson was succeeded as administrator by former acting CEO Rik Hart. Towns, suburbs and localities The local government area includes a moderately densely populated coastal strip that extends from the Hawkesbury River in the south and is bounded by the Watagan Mountains to the west and north to Lake Macquarie and the Pacific Ocean to the east. It is an extensive sparsely-populated region to the west of the Pacific Highway that is largely native bush.