Minister plays down erosion risk

The proposed Middleton Beach hotel site could be at serious risk of erosion before 2090, but Minister for Lands Terry Redman has dismissed concerns about imminent coastal erosion affecting the project.

On behalf of the Middleton Beach Group, Member for Albany Peter Watson questioned Mr Redman on erosion concerns at the hotel site in State Parliament last week.

Mr Watson asked Mr Redman to provide the rationale for LandCorp to extend the hotel precinct 15m to the beach despite it being at extreme risk from coastal erosion.

Mr Redman said erosion was a high risk over the 100-year plan, but plans had been put in place to mitigate this.

“Coastal risk for the Middleton Beach area has been investiga-ted, with a coastal hazard risk management and adaptation plan showing there is a poten-tial high risk to existing assets including the hotel site, over the 100-year planning horizon,” he said.

“The report also identifies protection options which can and will be constructed to reduce the risk to a low level.”

The adaptation plan states that with no protection, the proposed hotel site will be vulnerable to erosion before 2090. Two options to manage this have been identified.

The first option is increasing the level of the beach in front of the development area.

The second option is the construction of a seawall. City of Albany chief executive Andrew Sharpe said coastal risk management concerns affected the whole Middleton Beach precinct.

He said the City was working with LandCorp to prepare a foreshore management plan for Middleton Beach.

“While the hotel site is not at risk in the short to medium term, it has been identified as being at risk from sea level rise between the next 50 and 100 years if no protection measures are put in place,” he said. “There are existing buildings and infrastructure, and a number of Norfolk pines which are closer to the beach than the hotel site which will also need protecting into the future.”