Approximately 5,500 tonnes of sand will begin arriving at Stockton Beach today as City of Newcastle, NSW, begins the anticipated beach nourishment project.
The project is in response to severe erosion at the southern end of Stockton Beach and is also a pilot sand and wave-monitoring project to inform future management of the beach.
City of Newcastle has been planning for the $350,000 project for more than a month after having applied to the NSW Government for funding in early October.
Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said that the City had worked quickly to finalize approvals and start placing sand onto Stockton Beach to complete Stage 1 of this project prior to the Christmas holidays.
“The Christmas holidays are a big part of our season with volunteer patrols and club members all using the beach so, while it may be short-term, we are looking forward to seeing the results and getting sand back on this stretch of the beach,” Stockton Surf Life Saving Club President Callan Nickerson said.
“While we welcome the start of the project, we are committed to fighting for a long-term solution for Stockton’s erosion problem.”
A second stage involving placement of sand north of the Lexie’s Café accessway, adjacent to the Surf Club, is expected to be undertaken in early 2020 subject to further funding and approvals by the NSW Government in conjunction with maintenance works on the SLSC seawall that have protected Lexie’s café and car park from the impact of coastal erosion.