Newcastle City Council has rejected calls to immediately scrap plans for a skate bowl on the sand at South Newcastle beach but has committed to consult the community about the proposal.
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The council and NSW government unveiled plans in June for a skate park and bowl at South Newcastle as part of an $11 million upgrade to that section of Bathers Way.
The concrete skate bowl, which will jut out at least 18 metres from the promenade, was designed after consultation with a group of skaters, but local surfers fear it will generate backwash and beach erosion and be susceptible to storm damage.
They have enlisted the help of Surfrider Foundation Australia, which has placed South Newcastle on its list of “endangered waves”. SFA says on its website that it supports upgrading Bathers Way but the council should find a “more suitable” location for the skate bowl.
The council said in June that coastal engineering experts had used 25 years of tidal data to ensure the structure withstood storm swells and considered how it would affect sand and wave movement.
Independents Andrea Rufo, Kath Elliott, John Church and Allan Robinson moved at Tuesday night’s council meeting to investigate a new design for the skate park without the beach bowl.
They also proposed getting a second engineering opinion and submitting the proposal to a formal development application process.
The council’s Labor majority rejected the motion and instead adopted a recommendation from the council’s infrastructure director to “commit to a review and finalisation” of the coastal engineering report. The council also voted to have staff develop a plan for broad community consultation.
The director noted that removing the skate bowl from the design would jeopardise the $5 million in state funding for the works and risk future funding opportunities for other projects.
Construction documentation was almost complete, and investigating changes would cost about $75,000 in consultancy fees.
Changing the design would cost $300,000 in new documentation and delay the project by at least six months.
“It is also worth noting that both Department of Primary Industry (Lands) and the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage have been in recent contact with our Senior Project Planner following complaints from the South Newcastle Board Riders, and neither agency raised any concern with the proposal,” the director said.
A NSW Department of Planning and Environment Spokesperson told the Herald on Wednesday that building a skate bowl on the beach would need to take into account the Coastal Management State Environmental Planning Policy, which started in April 2018.
“The SEPP includes a range of matters that the consent authority will need to consider when determining a DA, including considering the impacts on beach access and existing public open space,” the spokesperson said.
“The consent authority will also need to consider whether the land is subject to coastal hazards and refuse development consent unless they are satisfied that the proposed development is not likely to cause increased risk.
“A DA would need to be lodged and assessed by council and determined by the council or a regional planning panel if the [project value] is more than $5 million.”
The council’s Newcastle Coastal Zone Management Plan 2018 says the council should investigate opportunities to move public assets, such as surf clubs, further away from the water to “minimise the potential impacts on coastal hazards”.
Deputy mayor Declan Clausen (Labor), who has a degree in environmental engineering, said opponents of the skate bowl had “cherry-picked” the facts to suit their argument.
“The amount of technical work that has been undertaken in order to make sure this design solution is appropriate is pretty significant,” he told the council meeting.
“They designed for a one-in-one thousand storm event and took into consideration the impacts of climate change.”
Long-time South Newcastle surfer Bernie Wilson, who is leading surfer opposition to the bowl being on the beach, said he had been invited on Wednesday to join a consultative group to share his views on the design.
SFA board member Craig Macintyre, who flew from Queensland to Newcastle on Wednesday to inspect the beach, said he was surprised at how close the bowl would be to the water.
Cr Church said on Wednesday that the alternative resolution adopted at the meeting “does not provide any assurance to people opposed to building a large concrete edifice on the beach, and it looks like council is pushing on with its disastrous plan”.
He said the council’s consultation to date had focused only on skateboarders and excluded swimmers, local residents and surfers.
“Experienced engineers tell me this is a disaster in the making,” he said.
Lord mayor Nuatali Nelmes (Labor) said plans for the Bar Beach skate park had attracted community opposition but the park had since proved a success.
“What we want to ensure is that we have modern, up-to-date, fantastic facilities for people of this city, and particularly for the youth,” Cr Nelmes told Tuesday’s meeting.
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