Stormy seas wreck Snells reserve repairs

Temporary repairs to a reserve and coast path took a pounding last month, when high seas and stormy weather ripped out sand, soil and turf near the Sunburst Avenue boat ramp in Snells Beach.

Auckland Council spent $60,000 on cleaning up and repairing the reserve in April, after Cyclone Gabrielle smashed more than 100 metres of seawall and sections of the concrete footpath. Workers removed wooden piles and planks from the broken seawall, repaired the reserve edge and laid a temporary path to restore pedestrian access to the popular waterfront walkway south of the ramp. However, stormy weather on the night of May 18 undid much of their work, dumping soil and grass on the seaward side of the new pathway onto the beach, prompting several local residents to complain that it had been a waste of time and money.

However, council’s resilient land and coasts general manager, Paul Klinac, said that as the works were only temporary, the damage wasn’t a complete surprise – it had just happened sooner than expected.

“The stormy easterly conditions over the past weeks have resulted in erosion that, while not unexpected, has occurred more rapidly than anticipated,” he conceded.

“We will continue to maintain pedestrian access along the reserve and will be undertaking measures to stabilise the reserve bank in the coming week. We are also considering other measures, like placing temporary sandbags against the most eroded sections.”

Klinac said the damage highlighted the need to make sure public recreation areas were set outside hazard zones, which in this case would mean moving the reserve edge and footpath further back from the beach. And in a change from what he indicated in April (MM, Apr 24), he said the long-term repairs would probably include a seawall, at least in part.

“The current erosion does not alter the council’s objective of maintaining longterm pedestrian access along the reserve and improving the beach space, with

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• minimal reliance on hard coastal protection structures,” he said.

Storms have exposed rocks on Pakiri Beach for the first time. Inset, Wendy Brown.

“It is likely that the long-term solution will include a seawall to retain the reserve edge, but that it will be set back mostly landward of the high-water mark to reduce interference with coastal processes or the impact on beach users.”

The permanent solution is currently going through the process of design and consenting, and will also include improving beach access and increasing the width of the footpath along that section.

“We want to assure the community that the process is being fast-tracked where possible,” he added.

The project is being funded from the regional coastal renewals budget and work programme, but Klinac said he didn’t yet have an accurate cost estimate.

He added that timbers removed from Snells Beach had been reused at Buckleton Beach, where the cyclone had damaged another seawall, meaning very little wood had been wasted.