My Account
What came across most clearly at the technical workshop, aside from the fact that coastal engineering is multi-faceted, was the importance that council staff and the local board places on getting the project over the line for resource consent.
Hibiscus & Bays Local Board chair Julia Parfitt stressed that they are pressing the governing body for funding to build the wall as a staged project. She says that she has been assured that the money is in the pot and that Council see Orewa Beach erosion protection as a high priority.
However, if the project does not get resource consent, she says that funding is likely to be reallocated elsewhere in Auckland.
Council’s coastal management services manager Paul Klinac said that putting so much effort into this early stage of public consultation –including meetings with individual members of the public and groups – is, in part, an attempt to make the consent process, which will be fully notified, as smooth as possible by fully informing the public and dealing with issues before the consent stage.
At the workshop in Orewa on March 9, the proposal was explained in detail to a group of around 15 invited residents by Tonkin and Taylor’s coastal engineer Richard Reinen-Hamill and questions were taken.
Feedback to date from the public has identified several core themes, which are: support for improved and safer access to and along this section of beach; a wish to determine whether sand transfer (without a seawall) is a viable alternative; concern in respect of the amount of beach that the seawall may occupy and whether the need to restore the southern end of the beach could remove the need for a seawall.
Mr Reinen-Hamill said there is not enough sand available to transfer to provide protection from erosion, and to do so in any case would cost too much.
The resource consent application will, however, include sand transfer to act as a buffer – currently this is done when Council deems it necessary (such as after a storm) but the application will be to do it at least once a year.
Mr Reinen-Hamill said the height, and therefore width of the wall would be a compromise between providing enough protection for the reserve and safe access, and not taking up too much sandy beach. A height of 3.8m is being proposed. The options are to make 5m the minimum reserve width (150m of the reserve is currently narrower than 5m) or, where the reserve is wider than 5m, retain all the existing width.
The proposed 640m long wall combines areas of grouted rock masonry with rock rip rap and includes a walkway about 2m wide on top, along with beach access points.
Consultation began towards the end of last year and closes on March 31.
When this part of the consultation is over, Council will apply for resource consent, seeking full public notification – this means the public can make formal submissions. The date for lodging consent has been put back a few months, to around June. Info: shapeauckland.co.nz
Beach Open Day coming up
When this paper went to print, the plan was for Council staff to hold a Beach Open Day on Sunday, March 20 where the proposed wall will be surveyed with stringlines, so people can get an idea of its scale.
“As a result of the comments and feedback received, we will be holding a Beach Open Day commencing at the Kinloch Reserve at 10am on the 20th of March. This open day is to specifically illustrate the height and extent of the proposed sea wall and the related impacts on the reserve and beach, by way of surveyed string-line profiles, at three separate and representative locations – chainages 120m, 270m and 520m.
If the weather forecast is particularly unfavourable, we will email the recipients and post advice on the various Council information sites – Facebook and the Call centre 09 301 0101, on Friday afternoon and advise an alternate date.
We will have an information booth at Kinloch Reserve to outline the process and provide a general overview of the project.
Following the Open Day, this phase of the consultation process will be open until 31 March.
