Chamber calls on Council to maintain Ettalong
The Peninsula Chamber of Commerce has called on Central Coast Council to re-invest in the Ettalong Beach town centre.
"A recent inspection by the Chamber of Commerce has confirmed what we already knew. Ettalong Beach town centre maintenance is at an all time low", said Chamber president Mr Matthew Wales.
"Ocean View Rd is badly potholed, landscaping is in poor condition, tree guards are being lifted out of the ground, pedestrian crossings are crumbling, trees have not been pruned, the beachfront is overgrown and graffiti is epidemic."
Mr Wales questioned the Council's spending priorities.
"Council can spend thousands of dollars on an art program called Changing Faces in Ettalong Beach but can't find the dollars to look after the street infrastructure," he said.
"While art and culture is important to our community, it should take a back seat to maintaining the existing footpaths and roads that are supposed to service locals and visitors alike.
"It's pointless for Council to commission expensive art works and produce glossy photos and advertising when visitors arriving via the Palm Beach Ferry or coming up the freeway see crumbling roads, weed infested beachfronts, grubby footpaths and graffitied buildings.
"Sadly, after 20 years of hard work by the Chamber and local business to create the real face of Ettalong Beach, the Council is letting this slip away through lack of maintenance and no prospect in the foreseeable future of new capital works.
"As the Administrator has recently confirmed, the budget is now back in the black and more attention should be paid to improving town centre maintenance," said Mr Wales.
SOURCE:
Media release, 14 Jun 2022
Matthew Wales, Peninsula Chamber of Commerce