NSW Government Taskforce meet to progress sand solution for Stockton

A $6.2 million grant from the Federal Government to place sand on Stockton Beach, that was at risk of being lost, has been saved following the intervention of the Minister for Regional NSW Tara Moriarty.

The Stockton Beach Taskforce met today for the first time in more than a year with Minister Moriarty as Chair of the group tasked with delivering a long-term solution to the coastal erosion that currently removes, on average, 146,000 cubic metres of sand from the beach annually.

The Taskforce received confirmation that Department of Regional NSW and NSW Public Works will coordinate and deliver the works funded by a $6.2 million grant awarded to the NSW Government last October. The grant included $4.7 million from the Federal Government’s Coastal and Estuarine Risk Mitigation Program, and $1.5 million from City of Newcastle.

"We welcome the reconvening of the Taskforce under the leadership of Minister Moriarty, and the collaborative approach demonstrated at today's meeting,” Newcastle Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said.

"With the Department of Regional NSW on board as coordinator and NSW Public Works as the delivery agency for the work funded by the grant, I expect to see continued progress to provide long-term protection to the beach, surf club, local roads and parkland."

City of Newcastle's Executive Director Planning and Environment, Michelle Bisson, said mass sand nourishment remained the long-term solution to protecting the NSW Government-owned Stockton Beach, and the work to develop the draft Extended Stockton Coastal Management Program (CMP) is well underway.

"The Extended Stockton CMP is critical for realising the long-term vision for the Stockton coastline. It has been informed by extensive consultation with the community, as well as the findings of additional studies and investigations undertaken since the development of the 2020 CMP," Ms Bisson said.

"Delivering the CMP is a complex process, and each management action outlined in the plan needs to be championed and funded by the appropriate agency.

"Through the Taskforce we are drawing closer to confirming which NSW Government agencies will fund and own the mass sand nourishment implementation actions in the CMP for managing erosion in Stockton.

"Once this is confirmed we can finalise the draft CMP and place it on public exhibition later this year."