Chamber 'disappointed' with Peninsula allocation

The Peninsula Chamber of Commerce has expressed disappointment in the Central Coast Council's Operation Plan with the Peninsula receiving only two per cent of the total capital expenditure budget.

"We appreciate that this is only the first Operational Plan for the new Central Coast Council and that this reflects the priorities of the previous Gosford Council.

"We are none-the-less disappointed with the meagre $3.6m allocated to Peninsula projects," said Chamber president Mr Matthew Wales.

"The fact remains that the Peninsula is decades behind in infrastructure spending and we are urging the new council to direct more capital resources towards roads and drainage," Mr Wales said.

"The recent bad weather has highlighted how dire the situation is with the lack stormwater drainage in many parts of Umina and Woy Woy.

"This is simply not good enough and a better share of the $183 million budget is needed in order to have any hope of catching up on the repair and reconstruction of roads, footpaths and drainage on the Peninsula.

"Of the $3.6 million allocated to the Peninsula, only five roads have been identified with what we consider highly inadequate amounts of money.

"The $180,000 to each to Springwood Ave and Lone Pine Ave is a drop in the bucket.

"There is no mention of new funding for stormwater construction in south Umina where recent flooding has caused major problems for local residents.

"Further, there are no funds allocated to new upgrade works in the town centres of Woy Woy, Umina or Ettalong where footpaths are still substandard.

"The Chamber wants more funds to finish off Springwood Ave and particularly Lone Pine Avenue which is only now being rebuilt after an eight-year campaign by the Peninsula Chamber.

"Other roads in desperate need of upgrading are Ryans Rd, Rabaul St and many of the cross streets linking Ocean Beach Rd to Barrenjoey Rd.

"Our other two major priorities are the upgrading of the Rawson Rd-Ocean Beach Rd roundabout and the intersection at MacMasters Rd and Blackwall Road.

"We are fortunate that we have a highly-competent administration team in Mr Ian Reynolds and Mr Rob Noble but residents need to make their concerns known to the council so that Peninsula projects get a higher priority," Mr Wales said.

Media release, 7 Jul 2016

Matthew Wales, Peninsula Chamber of Commerce