CLARENCE City Council will begin works to repair and rehabilitate priority areas of damaged dunes at Roches Beach in Lauderdale following the July spate of severe weather, high tides and destructive ocean swells that damaged areas of the coastline.
Council undertook immediate remediation works to dunes adjacent to the houses that were inundated or under immediate threat of inundation in the Balanada Street, Bambra Street and Bayview Road vicinities.
Leader of the State Opposition Will Hodgman, Liberal Member for Franklin Jacquie Petrusma, and Shadow Minister for Planning Elise Archer survey the impacts of coastal erosion on a beachfront property.
Clarence acting Mayor Doug Chipman said Council had engaged surveyors to assess the dune systems and identify areas of the dunes most under threat from storm surge and where practical would fill and raise those vulnerable areas with sand.
“Council is also continuing its long term program to identify and implement appropriate mitigation measures to protect homes and infrastructure,” Ald Chipman said.
“These works will be revised and adjusted in response to the recent storm event, with new survey work, supported by expert advice, to commence as soon as practicable,” he said.
Clarence Council is currently in the process of contacting residents in affected areas to outline options for longer-term works to ensure better protection of homes and businesses within the Lauderdale area.
Further, as a result of the recent coastal erosion on beachfront properties, the State Government is responding to appeals from the public to develop an updated and more comprehensive state coastal policy.
The policy initiative has emerged in response to an ongoing demand for Tasmania to have its own comprehensive coastal policy that will work towards putting an end to the issue of coastal erosion.
Meanwhile the State Opposition said the issue of coastal erosion must form part of planning reform, however it criticised the State Government which it said had continually failed to act upon this priority.
“The Liberals have been the first to reiterate support for the development of a full and comprehensive state coastal policy that can deal with all coastal issues, particularly the issue of coastal erosion and liability issues, as well as the wider issue of climate change,” said Opposition Leader Will Hodgman.
