Details of Council Item
The Council item on 11 December will present the Port Beach Coastal Adaptation Options Report (2019), and recommends adopting a policy position of managed retreat as the preferred strategy for responding to coastal erosion risk at Port Beach and Leighton Beach, noting managed retreat is implemented over an extended timeframe.
It also recommends the City progress with the Coastal Adaptation and Protection grant funded project to implement the recommendations made in the Report (2019) to resolve the preferred concept and funding arrangements that will address coastal erosion risk up to 2040.
Full details of the recommendation can be found in the agenda: www.fremantle.wa.gov.au/council/agendas-and-minutes
Managed Retreat
The City proposes a managed retreat strategy for Port Beach that includes consideration of the impacts on adjacent beaches and existing infrastructure and advocates for appropriate planning mechanisms to support the strategy. It would be implemented over an extended timeframe to ensure that social, environmental and economic costs are minimised.
The managed retreat strategy would include:
• Removal of City assets in the erosion risk zone.
• Provision of City assets to meet public recreation amenity requirements on an interim basis while longer term planning is undertaken. Assets will have a defined design life and ability relocate once risk becomes intolerable and will be subject to budget considerations.
• Engagement with the Western Australian Planning Commission on the preparation of a precinct plan for the area to resolve coastal setbacks, transport and access, recreation needs, landscape and land use with a view to establishing an enduring and sustainable beach, and advancing integrated planning for this.
• Phasing of actions with reference to the current and immediate risks, implementation of a final coastal adaptation option to 2040 and planning and implementation to support a post-2040 scenario.
Consultation has concluded