Tweed Shire Council officers have addressed the Kingscliff Ratepayers and Progress Association meeting as solutions are sought for the town’s erosion problems.
Ratepayers and Progress Association vice president Scott Sledge said Jane Lofthouse, the Council’s Natural Resources management coordinator, addressed the meeting this month.
“Jane Lofthouse talked about the natural processes which have resulted in dramatic erosion which now threatens to wash away the beachside parks and Surf Lifesaving Club at Kingscliff,” he said.
“Unusual changes in wind and swell patterns are responsible for the loss of sand along the beach at Kingscliff.
“The current situation has resulted from pounding waves that have effectively pulled the sand back out to sea into deeper water.”
Monitoring the northward movement of sand along the shoreline indicates the volume of sand was significantly less last year than the normal annual average of 500,000 cubic metres.
Council planners have to consider both variations due to usual weather patterns and the effects of rising sea levels, now predicted to be nearly a metre higher over the next ninety years. State Government modelling indicates a 0.9 metre rise by the year 2100.
Battering by storm surf could further erode the coastline, as has happened in many places at different times. Normally sand movement returns sand to Tweed beaches in a season or two.
Many locals believe the loss of the beach parks would be damaging to Kingscliff’s economy, as many holiday makers would go elsewhere.
“The value of the land under threat has not been quantified but surely represents a valuable asset to the community,” Scott Sledge said.
“If the land and buildings under threat were put on the real estate market, their value would be enormous. I think that justifies government spending on measures to protect the area from encroachment by the sea,” he said.
“Some people think that we should simply allow nature to take its course but, if we lose this land, it is hard to imagine getting it back any time soon,” Sledge said.
He said Jane Lofthouse told association members she hoped the worst of the erosion was over, if the sandbagging holds until more sand washes north along the coast – as it usually does and they hoped to get funding for a long-term sand nourishment plan.
Scott said TSC Mayor Kevin Skinner also addressed the meeting, telling the members he believed the value of Kingscliff beach parks was far more than real estate value, because they serve the people of the region as well as drawing visitors from further afield.
Mr Sledge said monthly meetings are open to the public and provide a valuable forum for residents to seek information and express views.
The next meeting will be at Kingscliff Primary School on September 5 from 7pm.
Contact Scott Sledge, phone
02 6674 5213 and 02 6689 7466.
