Background

Eurobodalla Council first received separate grants to prepare:

  1. the Batemans Bay Coastal Zone Management Plan (2010)
    and
  2. the Eurobodalla Coastal Zone Management Plan (2012).

The project briefs were prepared by Council and NSW Government to reflect local geography and project aims.

We successfully applied for a variation to the grant agreements to merge the projects into a single Eurobodalla Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP). The projects were formally merged in May 2013 and we began preparing the combined plan. We considered this system under a single plan to be the most strategic and efficient approach to managing the coast.

Project on hold

The stop-start progress of the project has reflected significant changes to coastal management policies in NSW. The first significant change to policy was the withdrawal by the NSW Government of advice relating to appropriate considerations of sea level rise. The NSW Government did not however withdraw the legal requirement to consider climate change and sea level rise, leaving it to local councils to determine their own approach.

  • The project was suspended between July 2013 and November 2014, while Council determined the most appropriate approach for considering sea level rise.
  • Currently, the project has been on hold since February 2019 to avoid duplication of studies.

In 2019, NSW Minister for the Environment Gabrielle Upton and Minister for Transport and Roads Andrew Constance announced the formation of an interagency task force to coordinate and integrate works and studies. The Batemans Bay Taskforce was established to provide coordination, guidance and support to Council to undertake detailed assessments of coastal risk management options. The taskforce comprises multiple government agency representatives, who will provide scientific and legislative guidance to Council throughout the CMP process.

Following the conclusion of these studies - and based on recommendations made by the taskforce in 2019 - the NSW Minister for Local Government Shelley Hancock provided additional grant funding to Eurobodalla Council to recommence and complete the Open Coast CMP, drawing on the findings from the Batemans Bay Independent Coastal Study and previous Council studies. Council has accepted that funding and has begun the process to recommence the Open Coast CMP.

NSW Coastal Reforms

The draft NSW Coastal Management Bill was introduced in 2015. The Bill was supported by a new draft Coastal Management Manual and a new Coastal Management State Environmental Planning Policy.

The Bill introduced the proposal to replace CZMPs (Coastal Zone Management Plans) with CMPs (Coastal Management Programs). Significantly, the draft Bill proposed that all councils would need to transition Coastal Management Programs before the end of 2021.

Opportunity to comply

We made an early transition to preparing a Coastal Management Program with the aim of achieving certification under the Coastal Management Act 2016. This decision was made to avoid the expense of having to re-work the plan soon after it had been adopted.

Further, the NSW Coastal Reforms was a period of planning uncertainty for coastal residents. When completed, the Eurobodalla CMP will deliver longer-term certainty for our community on how the coast will be managed.

Having a certified program will enable access to NSW Government funding allocated under the NSW Coastal Management Program. This funding is only available for projects identified in a certified Coastal Management Program.

Chronology of the Eurobodalla Coastal Management Program

A chronology of events that have occurred in the development of the Eurobodalla Coastal Management Program to date:

  • August 2010: Received grant to prepare updated Batemans Bay Coastline Hazard Management Plan to recognise the State Sea Level Rise Planning Benchmarks.
  • July 2011: Brief posted with invitations for tenders to prepare the Batemans Bay Coastline Hazard Management Plan.
  • Tuesday, 27 September 2011: Council appoints Umwelt (Water Research Laboratory, Uni NSW as sub-contractors) to prepare updated Batemans Bay Coastline Hazard Management Plan to recognise the State Sea Level Rise Planning Benchmarks (Council Report 011/200: Minute No 11/243).
  • March 2012: Received funding to prepare Eurobodalla Coastal Zone Management Plan.
  • 5 June 2012: Brief posted with invitations for tenders to prepare the Eurobodalla Coastal Zone Management Plan.
  • Tuesday 24 July 2012: Council appoints Umwelt (Water Research Laboratory, Uni NSW as sub-contractors) to prepare Eurobodalla Coastal Zone Management Plan (Council Report 012/160: Minute No 012/160).
  • 8 September 2012: NSW Sea Level Rise Policy Statement 2009 withdrawn.
  • Tuesday, 28 May 2013: Council determines to merge both projects into a single Eurobodalla Coastal Zone Management Plan (Council Report 013/88: Minute No 13/135).
  • Tuesday 02 July 2013: Council determines to investigate regionally relevant Sea Level Rise Planning Levels to replace withdrawn NSW policy advice (Council Report PS13/08: Minute No PM13/13).
  • July 2013: Council received funding for South Coast Regional Sea Level Rise Policy and Planning Response.
  • 04 November 2013: Council receives notice from the Office of Environment and Heritage approving project variation to merge projects into a single Eurobodalla Coastal Hazard Management Plan.
  • Project placed on hold until completion of the South Coast Regional Sea Level Rise Policy and Planning Response.
  • 25 November 2014: Council adopts the South Coast Regional Sea Level Rise Policy and Planning Response (Council Report PSR 14/062: Motion 14/336).
  • January 2015: Eurobodalla Coastal Zone Management Plan recommences.
  • May 2015: Jacobs Group engaged to prepare additional photogrammetry to support hazard assessment being prepared by primary consultant.
  • Commencement of Stage 2 of the NSW Coastal Reforms with the introduction of the draft Coastal Management Bill 2015.
  • Council seeks advice from the NSW Government on best pathway forward to complete Coastal Zone Management Plan under draft requirements.
  • December 2015: Council proceeds to prepare a Coastal Management Program in accordance with draft requirements.
  • December 2016: Coastal Management Bill adopted by NSW Parliament.
  • October 2017: As part of the Open Coast CMP, we organised a coastal hazard assessment to better understand the risks from coastal hazards.
  • April 2018: NSW Coastal Management Act 2016 and Coastal Management State Environmental Planning Policy come in to force.
  • 2019: Major infrastructure works commence in Batemans Bay with the construction of the Batemans Bay bridge.
  • 2019: Additional studies commence to support bridge construction and Clyde River dredging projects.
  • 25 February 2019: The Minister for the Environment, Gabrielle Upton MP, and Minister for Roads, Andrew Constance MP, announced the formation of an inter-agency task force to coordinate and integrate works and studies.
  • February 2019: Open Coast CMP placed on hold whilst Transport for NSW commissioned GHD to undertake studies, independently of Council and agencies, at the request of the Surfside community.
  • April 2020: GHD completed an Independent Coastal Impact Assessment in consultation with community project reference group and Agency Taskforce. Stage 1 and 2 Batemans Bay Independent Coastal Impact Assessment has been completed by consultants GHD and are available on Transport NSW website
  • May 2020: Following recommendations from the Agency Taskforce, the Minister for Local Government, Shelley Hancock MP provided additional grant funding to Council to recommence and complete the Open Coast CMP drawing on the findings from the GHD and previous Council studies.

More information

For more information, contact Council's Coastal Management Planner, Cameron Whiting: