Plan cannot be enforced, says Minister

Sections of the Ettalong Beach Plan of Management do not have to be enforced, according to the Minister of Lands.

A statement from the Minister's Office said that, in practical terms, "no plan of management can commit any party to actions for which they do not have funding, expertise or resources".

The comment was in relation to the proposal for stabilisation works at Lance Webb Reserve, Ettalong Beach, which appeared in the Ettalong Beach Plan of Management.

Part of the plan states that the investigation of funding for the works would be high priority, while another includes the works as part of the overall plan.

According to the Minister's Office, any plan of management adopted under the Crown Lands Act was primarily to identify reserve values and needs, guide reserve management and to ensure that reserve use was consistent with the reserve's gazetted purpose and/or identified values/needs.

The Office stated that the need for beach nourishment and foreshore stabilisation was "well recognised" by both the department and Gosford Council.

The Office stated that it had ensured that the Ettalong Beach Plan of Management emphasised this.

It stated: "As a result, in implementing the plan, council is expected to make every effort to explore options for funding".

"Council has also committed to further studies to manage foreshore erosion in consultation with the Coast and Estuary Committee, which is currently developing an Estuary Process Study."

The Office stated that council was expected to develop a regular program of sand nourishment.

It stated that part of the program's development would be the identification of funding sources.

It stated: "The Crown Lands Act does not provide specific powers to direct reserve trustees except in regard to administration issues and use of revenue derived from a reserve."

Council's manager of engineering services Mr John Cragg confirmed that all current funding available for works shown on the plan of management was required to be applied to the high priority works in the Town Beach Precinct, and not the Lance Webb Reserve Precinct, by virtue of the various sources of the funding.

"The funding available for works in the Town Beach Precinct, including that to be made available by the Ettalong Beach Memorial Club, is approximately $610,000," Mr Cragg said.

"Hence there is currently no funding for the major foreshore stabilisation works on the Lance Webb Reserve."

Mr Cragg said council was in the process of seeking to multiply the funding already available for works in the Town Beach Precinct by obtaining government grants, such as that available from the Australian Government under the Regional Partnerships Programme.

"In lodging its submission for Regional Partnerships Programme funding for works in the Town Beach Precinct, it is also intended to seek a funding grant to engage the coastal engineer referred to in the quotation taken from the plan of management," Mr Cragg said.

"In the event of council being offered a grant, the engineer engaged would not only be required to design the wave dissipation structure, but to also identify the trigger points for cyclic renourishment proposed under the plan of management."

Lyle Stone, 26 Oct 2007