Emergency erosion repairs began at Wamberal Beach on Tuesday, July 1, ahead of a predicted major storm system set to hit this week.
The Bureau of Meteorology issued a Coastal Hazard Warning, forecasting damaging surf conditions from Tuesday evening.
In response, machinery was brought onto Wamberal Beach to carry out urgent coastal protection works.
The repairs, co-ordinated by Central Coast Council and emergency services, targeted six beachfront properties — leaving many other residents questioning why their homes were excluded.
Two excavators were spotted working on the beach, but the rising swell quickly halted further progress.
Locals described the situation as a “a comedy of errors” with confusion over who was receiving protection and when.
“Owners are shaking their heads and can’t fathom why some are getting works and not others,” one resident said.
“This week is really going to highlight where the government and Council have stuffed this up.
“Action should have been taken three months ago when we first raised the alarm.”
Council confirmed on June 30 in a letter to the residents that emergency works would begin at select sites on Pacific St and Ocean View Dr, citing ongoing erosion impacts and forecasts of worsening conditions.
The repairs were being carried out under the direction of the Local Emergency Operations Controller (LEOCON), but many residents said the process had been reactive rather than proactive.
Council carried out sand scraping at Wamberal Beach late on Tuesday in a bid to offer some protection but sand was seen washing away almost immediately.
Meanwhile, at The Entrance North, residents facing similar threats said they were receiving no emergency works at all, despite some properties already teetering on the edge.
“This is now beyond our worst nightmare,” one local said.
Wamberal Save Our Sand (SOS) volunteer Mark Lamont said no-one wanted to see houses lost, but storms had been dragging houses into the sea at Wamberal Beach and elsewhere for more than 50 years.
“Landowners bought and built on the foredunes knowing the risks … acknowledged on beachfront property title deeds that many landowners signed,” he said.
He said while some beachfront landowners blamed authorities for being too slow to respond with emergency works whenever storms arrived, such blame was misplaced and unfair.
“Authorities, experts, and even some residents know that while adding rocks and bags might provide a sense of security for some, such works can actually create more hazards, scouring the public beach and chewing out the foredunes of neighbours,” Lamont said.
“That is why some beachfront residents do not consent to neighbours’ emergency works.”
Lamont said experts had advised SOS that the focus needed to shift from property fortification to improving beach resilience.
“Improved beach resilience would reduce risks to houses but would not sacrifice the public beach in the process,” he said.
“Experts also remind us that that sea storms and erosion are natural beach dynamics, part of the beach formation process, not a problem.
“We have to work with nature rather than pretending we can shut it out with fortification.
“If the houses and the public beach are to stay, we need to lead with offshore sand nourishment.
“Nourishment would restore a wide beach buffer at North Entrance and Wamberal beaches, improving beach resilience, enabling the restoration of vegetated foredunes – a win for everyone.”
He said that like a problem tooth, the issue would need ongoing management.
“The risks will never be eliminated but they can be better managed,” he said.
“Critics say a big storm would wash away sand as soon as it is dumped at the beach, but that is not the case.
“Sand nourishment causes waves to break further out to sea.
“The foredune is no longer the main line of defence.
“When sand is eventually eroded in storms, it is not lost; it sits just a short distance away from the beach and can be returned to the beach within weeks.
“We saw that happen at the Gold Coast recently after Cyclone Alfred.
“Hopefully homes will not be lost to these storms and we will see a shift to proactive beach management to improve beach resilience rather than reactive fortification efforts.
“This shift needs to be highlighted in the CMP (coastal management program).”
Coastal authorities advised residents to stay off escarpments, decks and balconies, and to follow signage and safety directions.
The emergency works are separate from the Reconstruction Authority project, with The Entrance North’s scope of works currently sitting with the RA for approval.
Wamberal residents received scope of works notices this week, but many said they hadn’t had time to review them amid ongoing storm preparations.
These will be sent off to the Reconstruction Authority for approval once residents sign a non-binding agreement.
Skaie Hull and Terry Collins
The beach front landowners knew the risks and should not expect the community to bail them out. They should work with Save Our Sands to make our dynamic Wamberal beach resilient with sand renourishment.
The houses should not be there in the first place.
2016 these poor residents watched in horror as their properties came under threat of being washed away in a massive storm event. The Member for Terrigal Adam Crouch and I met with every resident to come up with protective measures to save their homes in the future. Nine years later, the Council and State Government have done nothing and once again homes are under threat. Keep in mind that the property owners want to pay to protect their homes. They simply want approval.
Sick of hearing about greedy beachfront property owners moaning about the risks that they’ve taken and lost. What do they expect to happen building on top of sand by the beach?
50 year old sins. You only have to look north from “south pacific” building that all the buildings sit on fake backfill, mother nature reminds us where she needs to go. From terrigal lagoon to “south pacific” is meant to be a island every now and again, then the ocean pushes through at the ruins
Beachfront landowners need to get CCC to shift away from the current policy of a hard vertical seawall and move forward with new policies that support alternative methods of property protection ie. Sloped revetments, sand nourishment and revegetation which would also support public beach amenity. They should also begin talking to the state and federal governments about sand nourishment .
These people knew the risks when they bought as it has been going on for DECADES if not longer. Not one council dollar should be spent protecting private property in these areas when there are so many other issues crying out for funds and investment.
As above , not our problem . And that dogs barks to much
NASA, using it’s satellites, predicts a 25-30cm sea rise in the next 25 years. For each one cemmeter the sea rises, the ocean advances one metre in land. So if you stand at high tide today, the sea will advance 30m in land the next 25 years. Wamberal is only the tip of the iceberg. There are so many beaches in Australia that will need a managed retreat as the council and central government can save them all.
After the 1974 storms there were about 4 blocks of land that were never to be built on again. Fortunately very rich people fought local government to purchase those blocks of land and now are. crying out for help. Bad luck people
Some residents were aware of the risks—particularly when they were unable to obtain insurance for coastal erosion. Others pursued home renovations through the Land and Environment Court, committed to preserving their homes and communities. But does this mean we simply abandon them? Do we allow their lives to be destroyed because the system now deems their homes too difficult to protect?
Unless Council intends to buy these properties back at fair land value, I believe they deserve to be safeguarded. These homeowners continue to pay council rates and levies like everyone else. If the plan is to walk away, then perhaps Council should refund decades’ worth of contributions—and accept that Wamberal and Ocean View Drive will be directly exposed to the ocean.
Ironically, those living across the road might be thrilled, now enjoying newly unobstructed water views. Is this perhaps the reason for the hostility—financial gain at the expense of others? Yes it’s a sand dune how long for that to erode away….
Should we allow key infrastructure like roads, bridges, surf clubs to simply wash away? Of course not—we protect it, because it serves a broader purpose. The same principle should apply to these homes. Allowing them to fall into the sea serves no one. It creates financial ruin, emotional devastation, and long-term environmental impacts. And many of these homeowners, unable to secure insurance, now face these risks entirely unsupported and financial ruin.
And no I don’t live there!
Regards Dash
Let the Government buy these properties out at market price including potential property downgrades and preserve it all as parkland. Do the necessary engineering and problem solved. The same goes for Collaroy where council have already bailed out a handful of residents and not others in protection.
Council approved the building plans and has been changing rates for years…
Any remediation should be a cost to the homeowners who have enjoyed those stunning ocean views. Perhaps a large permanent rates levy for those ocean edge homes should be charged. It would reduce property values but better than trying to sell driftwood.