Read how coastal erosion occurs on the Central Coast, possible solutions and what Council is doing to manage coastal hazards and impacts of erosion.
The Central Coast has a high risk of exposure to coastal erosion, with some beaches already impacted by severe erosion. A part of our role is to respond to impacts, manage public land, protect community assets, support public safety, and develop and implement long-term coastal management programs. We also have a role regarding strategic planning and development assessment in our coastal environment.
Coastal erosion is a natural process that occurs when waves, tides, currents and wind gradually wear away the shoreline and can threaten public and private assets such as roads, parks, and homes – particularly during storms.
Climate change, rising sea levels, and increased storm frequency are expected to worsen the problem, placing additional pressure on already vulnerable areas.
Coastal erosion at certain locations across the Central Coast, including Wamberal Beach and The Entrance North, has severely impacted both private and public land. This threatens private properties and public infrastructure, such as beach access paths, utilities connections, and roads. Additionally, erosion has exposed building materials which poses public safety and environmental risks.
Managing coastal erosion is a complex challenge requiring both immediate response and long-term planning. There are multiple factors to consider including technical, financial, social, environmental and community sentiment and feedback.
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Coastal erosion requires long-term planning, responsible decision-making, and collaboration across all levels of government and the community.
Council is not responsible for protecting private land, however we play a key role in:
- developing and implementing Coastal Management Programs (CMPs)
- managing public land and infrastructure in alignment with CMPs and mitigating public safety risks in the beach environment
- strategic planning and development assessment in our coastal environment, and providing advice to private land owners on development pathways
- supporting emergency services during severe coastal erosion events
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There is no single solution to managing coastal erosion. A combination of approaches is often required to address coastal erosion depending on the level of risk, local conditions, and community values.
Two common approaches often discussed are to:
- build a terminal protection (sea wall) to offer an effective last line of defence in areas where coastal erosion poses a significant threat to public and private assets
- carry out sand nourishment works – where involves transporting compatible sand from another location and placing it on the beach to rebuild its width and volume.
Our region's coastline includes private land and publicly owned land (Council and NSW Government).
Landowners have the legal right to seek consent for coastal protection works through a development application lodgement.
View fact sheet on approval pathways for building coastal protection works
- Wamberal Beach. The long-term solution to manage coastal hazards and reduce severity of coastal erosion at Wamberal Beach, whilst maximising beach width has been determined as a terminal protection structure (seawall). This is to be located as far landward and on private property as possible. This long term-solution is proposed as an integrated approached with a seawall and sand nourishment (similar to the Gold Coast). There are Council adopted Minimum Engineering Guidelines which will identify specific criteria to guide coastal protection development applications. These guidelines will be used by the Regional Planning Panel in conjunction with the Coastal Management Act 2016 and Coastal Management SEPP 2018 when assessing development applications. Read more
- Other coastlines. For private landowners, coastal protection works (short or long term) are only permitted with development consent, in alignment to the NSW Department of Planning and Environment Coastal Management State Environmental Planning Policy.