Lake Macquarie Coastal Zone Management Plan
A New Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) for Lake Macquarie
Lake Macquarie City Council is preparing a new plan for its coastal zone. The Lake
Macquarie Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) will include priorities and actions for
both the Lake Macquarie coastline and the Lake Macquarie estuary.
The CZMP will be prepared in two parts. Part A will focus on the coastline component and
Part B will focus on the estuary component. Part A will be prepared during 2012, and Part B
will be completed 2013.
The current Lake Macquarie Coastline Management Plan is over 10 years old and, although
much of the existing plan and its recommendations remain relevant, changes in planning
legislation and planning rules as well as emerging data on sea level rise, recreational use,
and ecological health need to be considered.
The coastline of Lake Macquarie is popular with residents and tourists and it is important for
those who use it to have their say.
Input from people who use the beaches, dunes, and headlands will assist Council to set
priorities for managing coastal health, hazards, and risks.
The aim of the plan is to manage risks on the coast:
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to the natural landscape,
to community access and enjoyment, and
to built assets and infrastructure.
Many of these risks are driven by natural coastal processes, such as erosion from waves
during storms, strong winds, and currents. Other risks such as weed invasion, rubbish
dumping, and environmental pressure are often a result of interactions between different
uses of coastal land. Projected sea level rise over the next century would also have an
impact and needs to be considered as part of the plan.
Image: Symon Walpole
Lake Macquarie Coastal Zone Management Plan 1
About Our Coast
The Lake Macquarie coastline extends from Glenrock, near Dudley in the north, to Moonee
Beach, near Catherine Hill Bay in the south. It consists of sandy beaches, lagoons, coastal
wetlands, headlands, rocky shores, and rock platforms.
The coast is a regional asset, valued by tourists and residents alike, and provides residents
with a unique coastal lifestyle.
Burwood Beach
Dudley Beach
Awabakal Nature
Reserve
Belmont Wetlands
State Park
Redhead Beach
Nine Mile Beach
Blacksmiths Beach
Grannys Pool
Swansea Heads
Crabs Beach
Frenchmans Beach
Caves Beach
Pinny Beach
Spoon Rocks Beach
Middle Camp Beach
Catherine Hill Bay Beach
Moonee Beach
Lake Macquarie Coastal Zone Management Plan 2
What are the issues?
Storm bite erosion has a dramatic effect on beaches and coastal dunes, which are projected
to recede landwards over time. Long-term coastal recession would affect coastal ecology,
access to beaches and dunes, and coastal infrastructure such as sewerage, stormwater, and
road assets. Planning to manage these risks is critical.
Council is fortunate that nearly all its coastline is in public ownership, which provides a range
of opportunities for people to swim, walk, surf, and relax. Maintaining safe access ways for a
growing population is a challenge. Some of the access management questions include:
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Which areas should be available for off road vehicles and how they should access the
beach?
Where is the best access for disabled people?
What changes to surf club facilities are needed?
Which areas are suitable for commercial and recreational fishing?
Where should walkways be provided?
The headlands have important ecological communities that are affected by tracks, fire, and
weeds. Some dunes have healthy coastal ecology, but others have been mined in the past
and have limited diversity and coverage of vegetation and/or are affected by weeds. Some of
the conservation management questions include:
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Which areas should be better conserved?
Which areas should be a priority for further rehabilitation?
Where should community education about managing the potential impacts of
development on coastal lands be targeted?
How can local people be involved in managing and monitoring the coast?
Image: Carolyn Pettigrew
Lake Macquarie Coastal Zone Management Plan 3
Why prepare a new Coastal Zone Management Plan
Image: Symon Walpole
Council adopted its current Coastline Management Plan back in 1999 and many of the
actions adopted in that plan have now been implemented. Aspects of the coastal
management framework in NSW and locally have also changed since then. CZMPs must
comply with the Coastal Protection Act 1979 and other relevant guidelines and policies. The
NSW Government also recommends that Councils update CZMPs approximately every 10
years to ensure that they continue to be relevant and reflect the best available information.
It is timely to review what has been achieved so far and take into account new knowledge
about coastal processes, coastal ecology, and how the community enjoys the coastline. This
will assist us to determine what needs to be done differently in the future.
The new CZMP will identify proposed actions to be implemented by Council and its partners
in government, the private sector, and the community over the next 10 years. It will use the
best available knowledge to:
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manage risks to public safety and built assets;
reduce pressures on coastal ecosystems; and
manage community access and uses in the coastal zone.
How this plan fits with other plans and strategies
For cost-effective and timely action, the CZMP needs to be aligned with:
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other Lake Macquarie City Council plans for coastal assets and values;
NSW Government policies and guidelines for coastal management; and
relevant plans prepared by the NSW Government (such as plans of management for
Belmont Wetlands State Park and for National Parks and Nature Reserves).
Further information about the current framework for coastal management in NSW is
available on the Office of Environment and Heritage website
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Coastal management principles
All coastal zone management plans in NSW are required to consider the 10 management
principles in the Office of Environment and Heritage’s Guidelines for Preparing Coastal
Management Plans.
Lake Macquarie Coastal Zone Management Plan 4
Proposed management options for the Lake Macquarie coast will be evaluated against these
10 principles and will need to consider the objects of the Coastal Protection Act 1979, the
NSW Coastal Policy (1997), and the NSW Sea level Rise Policy Statement (2009).
Important steps in preparing the plan
Step 1 involves:
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Preparation of coastal hazard studies to identify
hazards and risks associated with coastal processes
and climate change.
Evaluation of the impacts of coastal erosion, coastal
recession, coastal inundation, changes to the position
and condition of creek entrances, slope instability, and
migrating coastal dunes.
Step 2 involves:
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Consulting with stakeholders and the community to
identify coastal values, assets, and perspectives on
coastal issues.
Understanding how existing management is affecting
the condition of the coast.
Confirmation of objectives for the management of the
coast.
Preparing and evaluating management options.
Understanding constraints associated with land
tenure, existing land use, and potential costs.
Step 3 involves:
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Proposing management actions in a priority implementation schedule.
Determining the implementation schedule (who looks after what, when and at what
cost). The schedule will show actions to be done by Council and actions that will be
achieved through plans and activities by other organisations. It will clearly identify
actions to be implemented on public or on private land.
Lake Macquarie Coastal Zone Management Plan 5
Managing coastal risks
The CZMP must identify management strategies for the coast that can deal with uncertainty,
which are appropriate at different time scales and relevant to community needs.
Coastal risks can greatly affect the cost of maintaining built assets, such as homes, surf
clubs, roads, sewerage systems, walking paths, and access ways. All CZMPs must identify
high and extreme risks, using a risk assessment based on the Australian and International
Standard (ISO 31000).
The CZMP must demonstrate how identified risks will be reduced. Below are some
suggestions of how this could occur:
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Avoid risk
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Change the
likelihood of a
hazard
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Change the
consequence of a
hazard
Share the risk
Retain the risk and
prepare for
emergencies
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Building and infrastructure setbacks out of hazard areas, using controls
in the Local Environment Plan, Development Control Plan, and asset
management plans. High value infrastructure such as sewerage
treatment plants should not be located in coastal hazard areas.
Building designs that will be stable during coastal erosion events.
Construct coastal protection works such as sea walls (from geotextile
bags or rock).
Beach nourishment to make dunes more resilient (increase sand
volume, increase dune height, and encourage revegetation).
Vegetation and access management to make dunes more resilient.
Cliff and slop stabilisation works to reduce the likelihood of rock falls and
slumping.
Design buildings to accommodate hazards or to be relocated
intermittently during hazardous events. Modular buildings and flexible
steps and ramps for beach access are examples.
Control migration of creek entrances with buried walls.
Control access to protect dune surfaces and ecology.
Conduct community education and involvement activities to make
people more aware of hazards and how they can be managed.
This refers to insurance policies for coastal hazards such as damage by
storm bite erosion.
Emergency management is important where there are assets in
immediate coastal risk areas and risks cannot immediately be avoided
or mitigated. There are statutory requirements about the types of
emergency works that can be carried out.
Adapting to change
The coastline is a dynamic
landscape, which changes all the
time due to tides, storms, weather
patterns such as El Niño/La Niña
cycles, and longer term trends in
sea level and climatic factors. The
processes driving medium and
longer-term processes and their
effects at the local scale are
uncertain. Our understanding of
coastal hazards and risks (what
triggers events, how the coast
responds) is continuing to evolve
with new studies and ongoing
monitoring of actual events. Some
risks will increase over time, but
the rate of increase is uncertain.
Image: Angela
Gleeson
Lake Macquarie Coastal Zone Management Plan 6
Further information about coastal zone management
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Coastal Protection Act 1979 (as amended 2010)
NSW Coastal Policy 1997
Coastal Planning Guideline: Adapting to sea level change (DoP 2009)
NSW Sea Level Rise Policy Statement 2009
Guidelines for preparing coastal zone management plans(DECCW 2010)
Aboriginal people, the Environment and Conservation Principles.(DEC NSW 2006)
Coastal Risk Management Guide: Incorporating sea level rise benchmarks in coastal risk
assessments(DECCW 2010)
Code of Practice under the Coastal Protection Act 1979
A Guide to the Statutory Requirements for Temporary Coastal Protection Works(DECCW
2010)
A guide for authorised officers under the Coastal Protection Act (DECCW 2010)
Guidelines for preparing coastal erosion emergency subplans (OEH 2011)
Guidelines for assessing and managing the impacts of seawalls(DECCW 2010)
Coastal Protection Service Charge Guidelines(OEH 2011)
A manual of coastal dune management and rehabilitation techniques (DLWC 2001)
Lake Macquarie Coastal Zone Management Plan 7