Public comment open for two sections of proposed Wamberal seawall

Development applications for all three sections of a proposed seawall at Wamberal Beach are now with Central Coast Council.

The combined applications envisage the construction of a Terminal Protection Structure, a vertical seawall, extending about 1.3km in length from 3 Pacific St at the southern end to 17 Calais Rd in the north. 

Number 1 Pacific St is not included in the application.

Two DAs for sections A and C are currently open for public comment while the third DA for Section B of the wall has been closed for comment.

Community group Wamberal Save Our Sand (SOS) hand-delivered to Central Coast Council about a 1,000 handwritten objections about Section B  earlier this month.

A group spokesperson said another 700 had been lodged online and the group is urging its supporters to send in objections about sections A and C.

Council staff will write the reports that will go to the Regional Planning Panel which will decide on the DAs.

The regional panels have been without councillor representation since the council has been under administration from late 2020 but that should change now the Coast has held elections and councillors will be declared early in October.

Waterfront residents with the Wamberal Protection Association (WPA) want a long-term solution to protect and defend their properties from the ongoing threat of coastal erosion, by permitting construction of a terminal protection structure, along their private land which backs on to Wamberal Beach.

The DA lodged with Council says the location of the proposed structure outside of the active beach zone means that normal sand movement along, and on/off the beach will not be impacted by the proposal.

No works are proposed within 40m of the shore of the lake or the mean high water mark of the estuary.

Severe coastal storms in 1974 threatened all beachfront properties resulting in the State Emergency Services placing rocks and sandbags along the beach. 

In the 1978 storm, two properties were lost to the ocean during a storm. 

These properties were subsequently bought by the State Government and are known as “The Ruins”, and they are included as part of the proposed section C works.

The wall has been designed as far landward as possible, and within private property. 

Exceptions to this design requirement are where it crosses over Council owned or controlled land such as the Remembrance Dr portion, and “The Ruins”.

“Property buy-back was raised by the community as a solution to address coastal erosion,” the DA states.

“There is no legal mechanism for Council to acquire these properties and buy-back could only occur on a voluntary basis. 

“Over the past 50 years, only five properties have been purchased at Wamberal Beach as part of a buy-back scheme.” 

The report states that in the current value of properties would likely cost $750M to purchase today. 

“This cost does not include compensation to owners, demolition and disposal, remediation and rehabilitation making it an unrealistic and economically unviable option,” the report states.