Central Coast Council Tackles Duplicate Image Problem Plaguing Its Digital Asset Library This Week

Central Coast Council confirmed this week it is working through a backlog of duplicate and incorrectly assigned images embedded across its digital planning, property, and community services portals — a problem that has, in some cases, shown Gosford CBD development sites illustrated with photographs of entirely different suburbs.

The issue matters right now because the council is simultaneously pushing a major renewal agenda for the Gosford CBD and processing hundreds of development applications tied to the region's housing affordability crisis. Residents in suburbs from Wamberal to Wyong have reported clicking on council-listed development applications only to find photographs that bear no resemblance to the site in question — a small but telling sign of the administrative strain the organisation is still working through following its years under state-appointed administration, which ended in December 2022.

What the Audit Found

The duplicate image problem surfaced formally during a broader digital systems review conducted through June 2026. Council's technology and customer experience teams identified that the content management platform underpinning the public-facing DA tracker and the Gosford Revitalisation project pages had accumulated hundreds of duplicate image files, many uploaded during data migrations carried out between 2020 and 2023. Some images had been assigned to multiple separate listings simultaneously, meaning a site on Mann Street, Gosford, could display a stock photograph originally associated with a Wyong Road commercial property.

The council's DA tracker currently lists more than 400 active applications across the local government area, which stretches from Patonga in the south to Lake Munmorah in the north and covers roughly 1,681 square kilometres. Developers and community members using the online portal to review neighbour notification documents rely on accurate imagery to understand what is proposed and where.

A spokesperson for the council's digital services team was not available for an on-the-record interview before deadline. However, a public notice posted to the council website on July 2 acknowledged that some planning portal images were under review and asked users to contact the customer service centre on Hely Street, Wyong, or the Gosford office on Mann Street if they encountered mismatched content.

Why It Hits Close to Home on the Coast

The timing is particularly awkward. The Gosford CBD Revitalisation program — a multi-agency effort involving the council, the NSW Government Architect's office, and Transport for NSW — is at a sensitive point. Preliminary concept imagery and streetscape renders for sections of Mann Street and the Kibble Park precinct have been circulating publicly since early 2026 as part of community consultation. If duplicate or misassigned images are appearing alongside those materials on council platforms, it risks muddying public understanding of what is actually proposed.

Housing pressure on the Central Coast has intensified significantly since 2021, when Sydney buyers priced out of the metropolitan market drove median house prices in suburbs like Terrigal and Avoca Beach above $1.5 million. That wave of demand has translated into a surge of infill and multi-dwelling applications, making a functioning, legible DA portal more important than ever for both applicants and neighbours trying to lodge objections within the statutory 14-day notification window.

The council has said it expects the duplicate image replacement process to be substantially complete by the end of July 2026. Users are advised in the meantime to cross-reference DA documents directly — the site address, lot and deposited plan numbers are listed in the formal application documents regardless of what photograph appears on screen. Hard copies of any DA on public exhibition can also be inspected in person at the Gosford office, 2 Hely Street, Wyong, during business hours Monday to Friday. For developments in the southern part of the council area, the Gosford administration centre on Mann Street remains the most direct point of contact. The council's online feedback form is also accepting reports of specific mismatched images to help prioritise the replacement queue.