Have a say on the future of our coastline

Eurobodalla Council is preparing a draft Coastal Management Program to set out how it will manage the coast for the next 10 years.

The plan will outline how the coastline and beaches will be protected long-term and where and how investment will take place.

Council is holding four drop-in sessions this month to give residents the opportunity to learn more about the program and to seek the community’s ideas on what they want their local beach to look like long term.

Mayor Liz Innes said the program’s aim was to protect community access and preserve the beauty of the coast, along with identifying and managing coastal hazards.

“The coast is a dynamic environment that’s always changing. The Coastal Management Program, which all coastal councils in New South Wales are required to prepare, will outline how we will manage the coast for the next 10 years in the face of coastal hazards, such as erosion and inundation,” she said.

“High on the priority list is protecting community access, maintaining the lifestyle and economic attraction of the coast, preserving coastal landscapes and natural systems, and managing hazards that may be a risk to assets, such as houses and public infrastructure.

“Management options could include adding more sand to local beaches, building sand dunes, installing infrastructure such as rock walls, or adopting planning requirements that change how development occurs in natural beach landscapes in order to protect them

“You might have other ideas – and we want to hear them,” Clr Innes said.

“We want to know if there is anything you want to change about how you use and access your local beach. Does the access and facilities meet your needs, or do you think some areas should be left as they are?

“Nothing has been adopted. The community’s ideas will help us draft a list of options that will form the basis of the Coastal Management Program. Some of the more complex options might require a detailed cost benefit analysis to determine how the cost will be spread.”

“And while there’s no rush, it’s important to we keep moving on this project because councils can only gain access to the NSW Government funding available from the coastal management program through projects nominated in a certified coastal management program.

“We’re preparing a handout that provides background information and prompts for residents to help them contribute to the program and we’re really hoping to get input and ideas from right across the community.”

The drop-in information sessions will be held:

People who can’t make it to a drop-in session can email their feedback to [email protected]

Meanwhile, around 50 land owners whose properties might be directly affected by coastal erosion have been invited to work with Council one-on-one in discussing the options for them.

The community will have a chance to see how the feedback and ideas from these sessions will contribute to a draft plan before it is placed on public exhibition later this year.

For more information visit our Coastal Management Program webpage.