Brooms Head under review as it risks being lost to the sea

THE NSW State Government is currently reviewing its coastal management plan and a $110,000 study focusing on Wooli and Brooms Head was recently commissioned.

DISCONNECTED: Erosion separates stairs from the foreshore.

AWASH: How far will it go?

THESE pictures are prophetic, and if you accept the climate change science the future does not look pretty for the Valley's coastal villages.

Steve Otton has been minding a friend's home in Brooms Head for the past couple of months and watching with interest as bit by bit, or swell by swell, the ocean encroached onto the land.

"Someone's going to have to do something or they will end up losing the whole point one day," Mr Otton said.

"I'm just amazed we can all sit back and watch beautiful 20-year-old pandanus palms fall into the water."

Of course exactly what action should be taken is the question on everyone's mind and the issue is fast-becoming a political hot potato.

The NSW State Government is currently reviewing its coastal management plan.

As part of the review a $110,000 study focusing on Wooli and Brooms Head was recently commissioned.

The study was paid for by both Clarence Valley Council and the State Government in a 50-50 split.

The council recently reinforced the rock wall at Brooms Head, and the steps that were washed away or damaged will be replaced.

But long-term options are limited, especially in terms of protection for the northern end of Brooms Head which is not protected by a seawall.

A senior council staff member said walls were an unlikely option because they eventually lead to the loss of beaches.

Originally published as Brooms Head under review as it risks being lost to the sea