Future Plans for Ocean Beach
Having put a holding pattern in place, the Emergency Response Team (ERT) recommended we determine a long term plan for Ocean Beach.
From wide discussion, and with advice from the Otago Regional Council (ORC), it is considered that to achieve a sustainable long term management plan for Ocean Beach, it is important that the plan references the area from the St Clair headland to Lawyers Head.
It is also important to note that subsequent to the Council's resolutions, there has been a considerable amount of further advice and information offered by the local community that confirms that opinions are widely differing in the field of coastal management and erosion mitigation and that public information and consultation needs to be a high priority.
It is acknowledged at this point that any long term plan for the management of Ocean Beach will consider options for coastal protection. These options are:
- Hard (construction of seawalls, revetments, groynes, offshore reefs)
- Soft (beach re-nourishment, sediment trapping, dune development through contouring, planting and fencing)
- A combination of both hard and soft options
The consultation process will continue
The Council had already approved a consultation process for this long term planning for Ocean Beach, in November 2007. The first phase involved encouraging the public to comment on the proposed scope and comment on the information required to draft a long term plan. The consultation documents were opened for public comment on 12 December 2007, and submissions closed on 29 February 2008. A Hearings Committee considered the submissions that had been received, as well as further representations by members of the community.
That consultation was only the first stage in developing the final management plan for Ocean Beach. There is still a good deal of information to be gathered, including topography of the dune system and the adjacent seabed, as well as modelling wave refraction, sand and sediment transport. Past shoreline positions, future shoreline modelling and ecological assessments are some of the other data that will be gathered. Together, this will provide some of the information that is needed before the range of options can be determined. A full range of the data to be gathered is listed on the Required Surveys and Assessments page.
Once all this information is gathered, a report based on it will go to the Council for approval to draft the long term plan. The draft plan will be presented to the public for further consultation before the plan is again reviewed and submitted to the Council for approval.
That will not be the end of the consultation process. Consents must be obtained before the long term management plan can be implemented, and the consent process will include further public consultation.
In the interim, the ERT continues to maintain contact with the ORC and the Department of Conservation to exchange information, discuss issues and gain advice.
Legislation affecting our management plan
There is also legislation that affects the development of an appropriate coastal resource management plan. A proper understanding of physical shore processes and landform development is needed, coupled with in-depth understanding of the requirements of the folowing documents:
- Resource Management Act (1991)
- New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement
- Otago Regional Coastal Plan
- Dunedin City Council District Plan
Although the type of coastal process information required in this case is specific to Ocean Beach, the use of the information in developing a management plan is based on international principles of coastal management.
Last reviewed: 24 Apr 2009 12:07pm
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