Beachfront properties could become 'stranded assets'
Many Peninsula beachfront properties could become "stranded assets", losing property value with insurance and banking sectors withdrawing from the coastal property market, Woy Woy town planning PhD student Mr Mark Ellis has warned.
He was commenting on the listing of Booker Bay in the top 20 NSW future coastal climate risks.
Mr Ellis said a 2022 report by CoreLogic rated Ettalong Beach as having one of the highest beach retreat rates in NSW at 2.56 metres per year with the value of residential property at risk being $25 million.
Recent decisions by the Central Coast council to allow rezoning of a land on The Esplanade for high rise development perpetuated the future risks, he said.
In recommending approval of the beachfront development, the Council's planning director stated the development waw outside the coastal hazard line, and therefore was not expected to be impacted by erosion and the complied with planning provisions.
"Such simplistic responses ignore the reality of sea level rise and ongoing erosion of the beach in front of Lance Webb reserve," he said.
"It is just another example of a planning scheme that is not keeping up with the forecasted climate extremes, and moving the problem onto future generations.
"While there have been changes in the NSW Coastal Management Act to better integrate land-use planning within the coastal framework, a shift in urban planning and adaptation methodology for coastal communities must occur to achieve intergenerational equity and a new resilience for coastal development that address the Sendai framework goal of strengthening disaster risk governance.
"As other Australian states promote avoidance of development in high-risk coastal areas, the NSW Government continues to advocate protection over relocation."
SOURCE:
Media statement, 10 Nov 2023
Mark Ellis, Woy Woy