Have say on coastal erosion plan
Greater Wellington Regional Council has begun community consultation on our draft Coastal Erosion Plan for Queen Elizabeth Park.
Last Saturday we held our first open session, and then a invitation session for a group of people, and the next open session will be on Saturday, May 18, 10am to 2pm in St Peters Hall in Paeka¯ ka¯ riki.
Other stakeholder meetings will also go ahead, and an online Have Your Say page is available for feedback. Visit haveyoursay.gw.govt.nz/ QEPcoastalerosionplan.
The deadline for feedback is June 7, after which the Coastal Erosion Plan will be added into the QEP Master Plan which will be created next year. This draft plan was shaped by early conversations with the iwi, hapu¯ , and Paekakariki Community Board.
As coastal erosion becomes more and more pressing for many of our councils, GWRC is facing up to the predicted impacts to Queen Elizabeth Park, proposing a 40-metre erosion buffer zone along its southern coast to protect assets and allow natural marine processes to take place.
The approach acknowledges a 2010 study of the coastal edge of QEP which estimated that within 50 years up to 40 metres of foredunes would be lost, a single large storm event could result in 40 metres of erosion, and ongoing erosion is likely to occur along the toe of foredunes.
Of course scientific data is continually being reviewed in the widest context of climate change, and you may have a view that GWRC needs to be bolder with our planning. Now is the time to help refine our thinking and to take on board the reflections and views of the whole community.
The coastal edge of the park is a dynamic natural landscape, vulnerable to erosion and the effects of climate change.
With the onset of sea level rise, more and more extreme rainfall events and the increasing frequency and intensity of storms, we’re moving to protect assets, restore the foredunes and reestablish opportunities for people to use and enjoy the area.
The proposed coastal erosion plan focuses on the coastal edge from the park’s southern entrance at Wellington Rd in Paekakariki to about 900 metres to the north.
It includes dunelands, Paekakariki surf club, Budge House, Wainui Pa¯ , Wainui Stream, and a network of green open spaces, picnic areas, roads, carparks, trails and beach access.