URGENT UPDATE: The Central Coast Council has revealed that a planned retreat from Wamberal Beach and The Entrance North could cost up to $1 billion. This alarming estimate is part of the Council’s draft Coastal Management Program (CMP), currently on public exhibition and available for community feedback until August 25.
The CMP outlines crucial strategies for managing coastal hazards, including property buy-backs, relocatable buildings, and landward relocation of at-risk infrastructure. Specifically, the report estimates that buying back properties along Wamberal Beach alone could range from $500 million to $1 billion. Additional costs would arise from building demolitions, landfill disposals, and dune restoration efforts.
As coastal erosion and other hazards escalate, the report warns that the Council lacks the necessary resources and authority to acquire private properties at risk. However, it stresses that implementing development controls in high-risk areas could reduce future urban exposure to these coastal threats.
The core recommendation in the CMP is to develop a Coastal Hazard Adaptation Strategy for affected communities. The draft states:
“This action recognizes that even with active intervention in areas that are currently at the highest risk from coastal hazards, the risk will eventually become so great that it cannot be reduced to a tolerable level by interventions.”
The Council acknowledges that as coastline hazards worsen, essential infrastructure—such as water supply, electricity, and sewer systems—will face increasing vulnerability. The CMP emphasizes that maintaining services for properties in these exposed areas will become more challenging, making a gradual retreat to safer inland locations a viable strategy.
In light of these developments, the Council is actively engaging with the NSW Government to align with the State Disaster Mitigation Plan, which includes policies on large-scale managed relocations.
Residents and stakeholders are urged to review the CMP and provide input before the public exhibition concludes on August 25. This is a critical moment for the community as they face the implications of climate change and coastal hazards head-on.
What happens next will be crucial. Local residents and property owners must stay informed about the impending decisions that could shape the future of Wamberal Beach and The Entrance North. Stay tuned as this story develops and impacts the lives of those in the community.
