Queens Esplanade Foreshore Protection Project

In December 2023, as part of Council’s internal budget review process, officers will be requesting surplus budget be reallocated to the project to progress it to the next phase.

The next stage of the project will require engaging an engineer to slightly amend the seawall design to help mitigate construction disturbance impacts on the site’s cultural heritage values.

In the interim, Council will continue to monitor the condition of the existing seawall and foreshore erosion.

Council will also continue to keep the community informed as the project progresses and more information becomes available.

Council has released the concept plan for the Queens Esplanade Foreshore Protection project.

What have we done so far?

In 2016 and 2020, Council determined the level of the environmental and social value of the foreshore and how it played a role in the local community by consulting with the public and stakeholders.

Following these consultations, an independent scientific coastal processes report, an environmental values survey and report, and a concept plan were developed as part of future foreshore protection works planned at Queens Esplanade.

What's next?

The project includes:

• Upgrading the seawall with geotextile sandbags
• Upgrading underground stormwater pipes and building a shallow open stormwater channel
• Providing natural foreshore access
• Renourishing sand adjacent to Beth Boyd Park
• Landscaping

To view the concept plan, click here.

Further progress on the project remains subject to Council budget prioritisation, Federal and State Government approvals, and State agency input.

From 11 November to 2 December 2016, Council surveyed local residents, recreational groups and other project stakeholders on its plans to deliver foreshore protection works. A total of 136 surveys were completed.

Participants were questioned on what they did and valued most in the area. The values most commonly nominated as requiring preservation or protection were:

• The outlook and views.
• Easy access to the foreshore, predominantly for use of small watercraft.
• Migratory and resident bird habitat and the natural environment.
• Natural and unspoiled look.
• Walkway and grassed area.

Most participants advised that they supported the construction of a rock wall adjacent to the land to protect the foreshore from erosion as it is a "more permanent solution" and “rocks look natural”. The next most popular response was the implementation of ongoing sand nourishment because it “looks natural”, is “soft” and facilitates “easy access”.

This feedback will be used to help inform the design for the most viable foreshore protection management option.