Community advocacy forces re-design of proposed Mooloolaba seawall

A world-famous beachfront on the Sunshine Coast has been saved following a public stoush between community groups and council, but questions remain about seawall works.

An iconic Sunshine Coast beach has been saved following advocacy from community groups but questions remain over the impact of planned works to build a new seawall.

It comes as the Sunshine Coast Council has amended the design of the proposed seawall for Mooloolaba Beach, as part of the Mooloolaba Foreshore Revitalisation Project.

Initial plans for the project included a 290m-long concrete terrace stepped seawall that would span from in line with the Brisbane Rd-Esplanade roundabout to the Mooloolaba Surf Club, that would be laid from the existing dunes to within two metres of the high tide area, albeit covered in sand.

That plan caused concern for community groups that expressed fears over the proposed seawall including the concrete structure being exposed during severe weather, access to the beach and parking during construction, as well as the potential impact of the works on the $1.3bn coastal economy.

It prompted a stoush with the council, that saw community groups criticised for allegedly sharing ‘misleading’ views, while the furore surrounding the project resulted in Sunshine Coast MPs Andrew Wallace and Fiona Simpson requesting for more consultation over the works.

Mooloolaba Alliance and Beach Matters members Benny Pike, John Burke, Paula McGrath and Graeme Juniper at the spot where a sea wall is to be built starting in 2024, where a 200m section of Mooloolaba Beach will be closed during construction. Picture Lachie Millard

Now, following a meeting between council and key stakeholders, the terraced seawall design has been realigned back to near where the current seawall is, while more shade trees and seating has been incorporated.

“Council has appreciated the opportunity to continue discussions and coordinate additional meetings with community groups and representatives,” a Sunshine Coast Council spokesman said.

“In recent weeks, community groups have been presented further information and detail of this transformational project, along with insights from the Australian and International coastal engineering expert who peer reviewed the coastal design.”

Rach Bermingham of The Beach Matters attended the meeting with the council and welcomed the announcement.

Mooloolaba Beach. Photo: Elizabeth Neil

“We went through a few things and they had listened to our feedback and as a result they pulled the seawall back,” she said.

“It took months and months of hard work, a million phone calls, and emails to experts around the country from a very small but very dedicated group of people to get this result.

“Fortunately, it has paid off in this case and we’ve saved the beach.”

Ms Bermingham added that while the beach space has been saved, concerns remain over the construction process.

“We asked about the staging of the construction, parking accessibility and support for businesses, but they were still unanswered because they didn’t have that detail yet,” she said.

The council was currently in the construction tender phase and no construction timeframe has been decided.