There’s no doubt people on the Central Coast have been doing it tough this winter, with Stay at Home Orders in place since 26 June, the impacts on both businesses and individuals has been far-reaching.

But we have a lot to be grateful for. We live in an incredibly scenic and naturally beautiful part of the world and I hope as many of you as possible have been using our spectacular waterways, bushland and open spaces to safely stay sane and healthy during this time.

Thank you to everyone who is doing their part to help our community reopen. At 24 August we’ve had 2,191 COVID-Safe business registrations and currently around 21,000 of us are getting vaccinated against COVID-19 every week. By coming together in this way we are standing up for our community and helping each other move forward.

Together with the CEO, the new RDACC Board has been working hard behind the scenes to ensure we are on the right track to regain our regional prosperity once restrictions are lifted.

We endorsed the extensive efforts of our elected members, in successfully classifying the Central Coast as a stand-alone region. This will be extremely beneficial in terms of separating from Greater Sydney for the purposes of COVID-19 restrictions and for attracting future regional funding opportunities.

RDACC also welcomed the appointment of Ms Christine Jarvis to the newly-created position of Director of Regional Projects, Funding & Research, to better connect funding sources across the community.

We have been taking many enquiries from local business owners regarding the supports that are currently available and we are continuing to connect local industry with funding sources to help our local business community access the best supports available.

We have also promoted funding opportunities for young people on the Coast and we continue to support our regional producers and agricultural sector through Agribusiness Mapping to help build their resilience against future challenges.

During this time, we have continued to highlight the innovation and ingenuity shown by local businesses, particularly those in the hospitality sector, in adapting to the ever-changing conditions and facing the challenges they are presented with head-on. {You can read more on this in our Local Food Innovators profile below}.

The work that is being done now will only serve to help us rebuild and regain momentum as we move toward increased freedoms in the coming months. I know the Central Coast is a proud, resilient and hardworking community, and I look forward to celebrating our reemergence with you all.

Lawrie McKinna
Chair

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