By TANIA PHILLIPS
THE swells expected to lash the Tweed Coast at the already vulnerable Fingal Rovers surf club have failed to materialise however Duranbah Beach hasn’t been so lucky.
Tweed Mayor Barry Longland said council officers were “approaching the sand bypass operators” near the mouth of the Tweed River to have sand urgently replenished at the site.
“It looks like Fingal was all right but Duranbah Beach copped it this time and has been severely eroded,” he said.
“We will be approaching the sand bypass people to hopefully get a supply of sand – apparently they should be able to send the sand there without too many dramas.”
Cr Longland, who has been in Sydney this week at a conference, said he had been receiving updates from the Fingal Rovers Clubhouse, with council officers and Fingal Rovers members keeping an eye on the endangered building during the wild weather.
The club is due to celebrate its 80th anniversary in September and had planned their annual presentation event at the clubhouse before the emergency occurred.
Late last week council workers spent three days working to replenish and stabilise the remaining dunes with more than 700 cubic metres of sand and on-site vegetation debris after erosion brought the ocean to within 13 metres of the clubhouse.
The Fingal Rovers Surf Life Saving Clubhouse was off-limits for several days, following a council order issued on Tuesday for the club to temporarily cease use of the building. Under the club’s development consent, the club must evacuate the building when the erosion scarp comes within 17 metres of the clubhouse.
“It looks as though we have been able to restore the scarp to the 17-metre mark,” Cr Longland said.
“Now we will have to sit down and look at what we can do to see that this doesn’t happen again.
Council’s adopted Coastline Management Plan 2005 recommends a planned retreat for the clubhouse over time and does not specify permanent protection options.
“This does not exclude temporary protection works which are considered acceptable in this instance as this is likely to be a short-term erosion event,” Councillor Longland said.
“The reality is that we are risking public funds if we don’t temporary protect the clubhouse as it would actually cost ratepayers more if we had to collect remnants of the building from the beach.”
“As harsh as it sounds, residents and club members do need to be aware that if the dune continues to erode within 10 metres from the clubhouse, the building will be at high risk of structural damage and may require partial demolition to save the majority of the structure.
“We are hoping that the erosion event is short-term in nature and that the sand supply will reinstate naturally onto Fingal Head Beach.
“We have approached the State Government for financial assistance through the Member for Tweed, Geoff Provest,” he said.
Mr Provest said applications had now been received for funding from the council and he could see no reason it would not be received
Signage and safety fencing has been erected, although it is no longer around the clubhouse.
