Bitter battle over Collaroy beachfront has raged for years

A BITTER fight over the waterfront in Collaroy has been raging for years. Those who lost have paid a high price.

IT’S something that almost every Aussie dreams of: a mansion with ocean views.

But the sight of multimillion-dollar properties teetering on the edge of oblivion on Sydney’s northern beaches this week was a harsh reminder of the reality of buying near the sea.

The risk of coastal erosion has been talked about for years and long-term residents in the Collaroy area, where several homes have lost their backyards, balconies and even a swimming pool, have been well aware of the problem.

Storms have been eating away at the coastline since the 1920s and the Collaroy/Narrabeen beach on Sydney’s northern beaches, was identified as one of the most at-risk in Australia.

It hasn’t deterred people from buying in the area, with the lure of those sweeping views continuing to capture the imaginations of many — but perhaps for not much longer.

Property owners are now seeing the extensive damage the ocean can inflict and there’s not much they can do to save their multimillion-dollar homes from being engulfed.

Residents have limited (and often expensive) options when it comes to protecting their properties. They also face fierce opposition from beachgoers, who don’t want to see beaches changed to prop up the value of private properties.

Some say the conflict between public and private rights has dumped the burden on homeowners and left them to pay a high price for something that could have been prevented.

Homeowner Zaza Silk lost a large chunk of her property on Sunday evening and said her local council had “known about this for a long time and should’ve put a wall up” earlier.

“They’ve had this happen before. This could have been avoided,” she told Channel 10’s The Project on Monday night.

High tide begins to impact on damaged beachfront homes along Pittwater Rd at Collaroy. Picture: Dean Lewins

HOMEOWNERS LEFT AT THE SEA’S MERCY

Northern Beaches Council general manager Mark Ferguson said measures such as building sea walls were difficult to implement because of community opposition.

Warringah Council tried to extend a 1.1km sea wall along Collaroy/Narrabeen beach in 2002 but abandoned the plans when more than 3000 residents protested against it.

Thousands linked hands along the beachfront to oppose any upgrade or extension of the ad hoc wall that protects some homes.

The protest against Collaroy/Narrabeen sea wall in 2002, published in a presentation from Warringah Council senior environment officer Daylan Cameron.

“There is a natural conflict between people with houses on the beach, and beach users,” coastal engineer Angus Gordon told news.com.au.

Seawalls can strip beaches of sand and change wave patterns, which is not popular with surfers and beach users.

Giving property owners permission to build sea walls to protect individual properties was also problematic.

“Sea walls have a flow on affect to other properties,” Mr Ferguson explained. “Water can be pushed onto neighbouring properties if they don’t have a sea wall. That’s why it’s better to build a wall covering a number of properties at the same time.”

One of the Collaroy residents whose home was damaged during the recent Sydney storms, told AAP of his frustration that he had not been allowed to protect his property.

“We moved in three years ago. We talked to council, but it’s a bit late now,” Garry Silk said.

“This is the only strip without sea protection.”

There was extensive damage to Mr Silk’s property. John Grainger

Another neighbour Collaroy beachfront resident Thomas Falvo, 41, was allowed to build his own sea wall at great expense, but his house sustained minimal damage.

“That’s part of living on the beach,” Mr Falvo said. “Obviously government has not really helped on its part.”

A coastal zone management plan adopted by council last year now allows the construction of sea walls, but the issue of who pays for it, remains a barrier.

WHO SHOULD PAY?

At the moment individual homeowners can build their own wall but need to get council approval and pay the full cost. This can be complicated if there is opposition from neighbours.

At the moment council can’t force homeowners to contribute money towards building a sea wall, which is especially relevant if the wall will protect a number of homes.

“You could have councils building walls using public money to protect private property,” Mr Gordon said.

Mr Gordon said the way forward needed to involve an appropriate funding model where the beneficiaries of the construction, also bore some of the cost.

Councils can’t wash their hands of all responsibility as the problem can be traced back to land being opened up too close to the beach.

“The problem stems from the fact that the initial subdivision was too close to the beach with properties extending into the active beach zone,” noted a coastal management strategy prepared in 1988 for Warringah Council (now amalgamated into Northern Beaches Council).

Last month Planning Minister Rob Stokes announced an $83 million plan, including $69 million for councils to address beach erosion, coastal inundation and cliff instability.

But Coastal Residents Association secretary Pat Aiken told The Australian the damage to coastal property was testimony to the failure of the State Government to act.

“They have spent millions on useless plans that obviously haven’t worked and haven’t resulted in any real protection,” Mr Aiken said.

He said the government was not providing “just terms” compensation and council were changing building boundaries but not compensating land owners.

OTHER OPTIONS

Other options to address the issue, such as buying up properties, have also proved impractical.

In 2013, Warringah spent almost $3 million buying a luxury beachfront house it planned to demolish and use to build a park.

The council had a policy to buy properties east of Pittwater Rd.

“We have a line that identifies a potential wave impact zone and the properties that would be under threat during storms. If we buy there, those homes are no longer under threat,’’ then-Warringah general manager Stephen Blackadder said at the time.

Coastal engineer Angus Gordon told news.com.au that while everyone thought sandbags were a solution, he said they were “next to useless” when it came to preventing coastal erosion.

The Collaroy Beach Club was damaged by the storm. Picture: John Grainger

“I have watched one and two tonne rocks washed away and sea walls collapsing,” he said. “Why people think a 15-20kg sandbag is going to do anything, is just wishful thinking.”

He said the sandbags were generally useful in protecting against flooding situations, but not for preventing erosion, and while there were bigger sandbags available, it was hard to get these onto beaches because access was difficult.

It’s unlikely insurance policies will cover residents either.

Most housing insurance policies don’t typically cover “actions of the sea”, which includes coastal erosion, king tides or storm surges, said Insurance Council of Australia’s Campbell Fuller in a statement.