Racing against the sea
Anxious homeowners in a small Golden Bay coastal settlement who are battling to save their homes from the sea have found themselves up against yet more opposition.
After years of pleading with the Tasman District Council to build a rock wall revetment to protect their homes, the Pakawau Residents Association, near Farewell Spit, has applied for a consent to build a 345-metre revetment on esplanade reserve land and the coastal marine area in front of members’ properties.
The council has received 391 public submissions in support of the application, and 12 opposing it. Some have raised concerns about the detrimental effects seawalls have on the coastline and natural habitat, saying the council should look more seriously into longerterm solutions to help manage the effects of climate change and coastal erosion.
Ross and Jill Loveridge of Motueka, who own a bach at Pakawau, fear the seawall would have a detrimental effect by accelerating sand dune erosion north of the wall.
Forest and Bird Golden Bay said it was ‘‘unacceptable’’ to encroach on the beach to protect private land, and emphasised the need for a long-term strategy. It raised concerns over the TDC’s ‘‘lack of commitment’’ to coastal issues, such as planning for climate change and erosion.
Friends of Nelson Haven and Tasman Bay said the wall was a ‘‘sticking plaster’’ over an issue that would only get worse. It said the council needed to send a ‘‘clear message’’ about the inappropriateness of subdivision and development around coastal areas, with details of best practice solutions for existing ones, from soft engineering to ‘‘managed retreat’’.
The proposed rock wall is tipped to have a $350,000 price tag, with a 50 per cent rates increase per landowner, amounting to between $1000 and $2000 a year each over a 20-year period.
Homeowners have pleaded with council to help them since 2014, when Cyclone Ita took out 6m from the foreshore. Since then, up to a further 6m of the reserve at the southern end of the beach has eroded away.
Pakawau Residents Association chairman Laurie Jarrett said several properties had just metres left before the next big storm coinciding with a king tide washed their gates and septic systems into the ocean.
The council funded sand push-ups in 2014 and 2015, and Coast Care has done planting, but residents have called for a more permanent solution.
There are 17 properties along the proposed seawall, with seven of those being permanent residents. Jarrett said about $30,000 had been spent on the project so far, funded by the residents.
A hearing for the proposed seawall will be held in Takaka soon.