Seawall storm brewing

UP to 20m of land will be lost from some of the Gold Coast’s most prestigious beachfront properties in the next super storm because the rock wall built to protect them is now buried inside their property boundaries.

In other parts of the Coast, council-built beach boardwalks are regarded as sacrificial.

The seawall, known as the A-line, was built following the 1974 cyclone that eroded huge chunks of the city’s beaches and threatened homes.

Maps showing the seawall line reveal that up to 80 homes at Palm Beach potentially have the rock wall inside their fence lines. A similar number appear to be affected at Mermaid Beach but their protective boulder walls are slightly closer to the end of their yards, meaning they might not lose as much land.

In Surfers Paradise, the mapping line for the seawall confirms the $25 million boardwalk funded by ratepayers was “sacrificial”, having been built 28m seawards of the wall.

While homes or apartment blocks are believed not to be at risk, the owners face the possibility of losing a chunk of their multi-million dollar blocks.

The latest legal row between authorities and owners suggests residents can do little to protect the land extending beyond the walls to the beach.

A Bulletin investigation on seawalls has found owners are confused because:

Mapping is based on 2003 Queensland Department of Resources data.

No guarantees are given about the “accuracy, reliability or completeness” of maps.

Council says property buyers are “responsible” for finding out about the Aline.

Land owners can do maintenance work but not add rocks to the edge or eastwards of the A-line.

Older Palm Beach residents admitted they were unaware of the walls being inside yards but declined to comment for fear of inflaming another war with authorities.

Experienced private engineers concede that after the 1974 cyclone “we had walls all over the place” after owners protected their land.

A Surfers Paradise Beachfront Protection Association spokesman said some councillors were aware that boulder walls ran inside the private property boundaries.

“From our perspective, our lawyers advised that the reason for council’s delay in enacting a boulder wall local law similar to the canal revetment walls was due to the fact that officers still wish to construct an oceanway,” the association spokesman said.

Palm Beach-based city councillor Daphne McDonald confirmed there were beachfront homes along several streets where “the A-line runs through the middle of the property”.

“Most of the property boundaries (in those streets) are out in the sand. They are 20m beyond the A-line,” she said.

A council spokesman confirmed protective structures could be built seaward of the A-line wall.