Parry Beach Preliminary Report published as Shire of Denmark pushes forward in pursuit of technical data

The Shire of Denmark has released a preliminary report as part of its master planning for Parry Beach and the development of its Coastal Reserve Management Plan. In his executive summary to the 30-page report, Shire chief executive David Schober said the reserve was “a special place for all of us”. “As visitor numbers grow, the Parry Beach Preliminary Report is critical to plan for ongoing sustainable management of the reserve,” he said. “The Parry Beach Preliminary Report provides background information about existing community values, recognition of outstanding community concerns and safety issues. “It also looks at the reserve’s land use capacity by considering the increasing pressure from growing visitor demand and climate change impacts on the local environment, such as coastal erosion.” Statistics in the report showed that that 59 per cent of visitors to the beach’s campground from 2018-2020 came from WA beyond the shires of Denmark, Plantagenet, Manjimup and the City of Albany — with those local government areas accounting for 10 per cent of visitation collectively. Traffic data from the beach’s boat ramp between January 20 and February 28, 2021 showed 885 vehicles visited the beach, with a peak of 122 visiting on Australia Day. Community consultation was carried out by the Shire making direct contact with nine key stakeholder groups as well as a community forum in May 2021, which had 45 attendees. The community forum identified a bottleneck at the beach’s access point and limited parking as key concerns, suggesting the creation of secondary beach access and extra parking as solutions. Key stakeholder engagement included discussion of concerns about future development of the campground, a desire to keep the reserve as “low-key nature-based”, overflow parking for peak periods, improved signage and improving assets at the adjacent Point Hillier beach. Further community consultation was carried out in the form of a three-week survey which drew 270 respondents, 76 per cent of which were from the shire. Respondents showed a slight preference for the maximum length of a stay at the campground being limited to a week (30 per cent of responses) and 23 per cent of responses were in favour of allowing stays of up to two weeks. More than half (65 per cent) of respondents indicated they did not believe there needed to be a booking system for the campground. When asked what they thought was special about Parry Beach, respondents pointed towards it being an accessible, pristine and nature-based camp site ahead of other traits. That was also reflected in the environmental and recreational aspects of the beach being ranked as the highest value to the community. The report concluded by identifying the gaps in data which could not be covered through community consolation — coastal erosion mapping, investigating engineering solutions for beach access and a review of the management model. A $60,000 grant through the State Government’s Coastal Management Plan Assistance Program, announced in September, will help the Shire fill in those gaps by carrying out further coastal hazard assessment mapping over an 18-month period. The mapping project will also cover other areas of the Shire’s coastline so that it can develop a uniform approach to the the long-term management of the Ocean Beach, Lights Beach, Boat Harbour and Peaceful Bay reserves. Mr Schober said he was pleased the funding had been made available for the Shire to gather the required technical information. “Our community is always telling us about their deep care for our natural environment, and in particular, our pristine and rugged coastline,” Mr Schober said. “With this coastal hazard assessment mapping and engagement, we will be able to produce a long-term management plan which will work towards preserving all the things that are special and unique about our coastal reserves.” To read the preliminary report in full visit the Shire’s website: https://bit.ly/3inw5Eo