{"id":9567,"date":"2020-12-09T12:57:12","date_gmt":"2020-12-09T12:57:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/?p=9567"},"modified":"2020-12-09T12:57:12","modified_gmt":"2020-12-09T12:57:12","slug":"application-for-sand-source-exploration-licence-a-step-closer-to-returning-a-sandy-beach-to-stockton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/2020\/12\/09\/application-for-sand-source-exploration-licence-a-step-closer-to-returning-a-sandy-beach-to-stockton\/","title":{"rendered":"Application for sand source exploration licence a step closer to returning a sandy beach to Stockton"},"content":{"rendered":"

City of Newcastle\u00a0welcomes the NSW Government\u2019s\u00a0move to apply\u00a0for an\u00a0offshore\u00a0exploration licence\u00a0that will allow for the\u00a0investigation\u00a0of a suitable sand source to put sand back on the beach\u00a0at Stockton.
\nDeputy Premier and Minister for Regional NSW John\u00a0Barilaro\u00a0chaired a Stockton Beach Taskforce meeting\u00a0at City of Newcastle\u2019s Administration Centre\u00a0today\u00a0and discussed\u00a0how\u00a0the exploration licence\u00a0would allow\u00a0for the\u00a0examination\u00a0a potential source of sand needed to remediate Stockton Beach.
\n\"StocktonTaskforce-1.jpg\"Lord Mayor\u00a0Nuatali\u00a0Nelmes\u00a0said\u00a0Deputy\u00a0Premier\u00a0Barilaro\u2019s\u00a0announcement\u00a0was a significant\u00a0win\u00a0for the Stockton community,\u00a0with the\u00a0NSW Government\u00a0prioritising\u00a0a viable\u00a0solution to\u00a0coastal\u00a0erosion.
\n\u201cIf approved, the licence will\u00a0allow exploration work to be carried\u00a0out\u00a0by geologists to determine if an identified source of sand off the coast of Stockton is suitable,\u201d Cr\u00a0Nelmes\u00a0said.
\n\u201cThe NSW Government\u2019s commitment\u00a0to\u00a0identifying\u00a0a suitable\u00a0sand\u00a0source\u00a0is meaningful progress toward ensuring our community\u00a0can once again enjoy\u00a0the amenity of\u00a0a sandy beach, where coastal assets are protected.
\n\u201cSince the Stockton Taskforce had its inaugural meeting in\u00a0June\u00a0we have\u00a0seen a genuine and cooperative approach to reaching a solution to\u00a0ongoing coastal erosion.
\n\u201cThe Taskforce has cut red tape and overcome regulatory hurdles across various government departments to\u00a0enable a path to\u00a0source suitable sand to replenish the beach.
\n\u201cThe Stockton Coastal Management Program was informed by our community and has mass sand nourishment as its cornerstone, so\u00a0this\u00a0news\u00a0shows how collaboration between\u00a0Local and\u00a0State\u00a0Government can achieve positive outcomes for the environment and community.\u201d
\n\u201cI thank the Deputy Premier for his leadership in resolving the complex erosion issues at Stockton with both short and long-term\u00a0solutions.
\nThe Taskforce meeting\u00a0was also informed that\u00a0City of Newcastle\u00a0has completed\u00a0the first\u00a0comprehensive\u00a0scientific study\u00a0of how sand moves in and around the Stockton\u00a0Bight.
\nThe Stockton\u00a0Bight Sand Movement Study\u00a0will contribute to the\u00a02021 review of the\u00a0Stockton Coastal Management Program, which\u00a0is being updated to include the area north of Meredith Street\u00a0to the Local Government Boundary. Previous studies have been confined to the southern section of the Bight.
\nThis investigation\u00a0fills\u00a0an important missing\u00a0piece\u00a0in understanding\u00a0the\u00a0beach\u2019s\u00a0complex coastal processes.
\nCr\u00a0Nelmes\u00a0said the Sand Movement Study is key to\u00a0developing management actions that complement the mass sand nourishment strategy\u00a0for Stockton\u00a0Beach.
\n\u201cThe study\u00a0provides City of Newcastle and Stockton Bight\u2019s various landholders\u00a0with\u00a0the critical information and understanding needed to make evidence-based decisions on coastal management options for the area to the north of Meredith Street,\u201d Cr\u00a0Nelmes\u00a0said.
\n\u201cNext year City of Newcastle, in consultation with stakeholders, will update the Stockton CMP to include coastal management options for the area of the beach north of Meredith Street to the Port Stephens Local Government Area boundary.
\n\u201cThe Stockton CMP 2021 key actions will complement the mass sand nourishment proposed for Stockton Beach and will be assessed in terms of their economic and technical feasibility,\u00a0to obtain\u00a0agreement on a suitable strategy from all affected northern landholders.
\n\u201cThe actions outlined in the Stockton Coastal Management Program 2020 will not change and will be incorporated into the\u00a0expanded 2021\u00a0Stockton CMP.
\n\u201cThe work completed to date, in partnership with the community, has determined what we need to do now and in the long-term to ensure we can\u00a0manage\u00a0Stockton Beach for future generations.
\n\u201cWe will continue to work with\u00a0the NSW Government to deliver a mechanism to\u00a0get sand onto Stockton Beach.\u201d
\nCity of Newcastle\u00a0Manager of Assets and Projects Joanne Rigby\u00a0said the study provides\u00a0the first full\u00a0analysis of the Bight\u2019s\u00a0\u2018sand budget\u2019, which maps historical sand volume changes\u00a0from Nobbys Headland\u00a0to\u00a0Birubi\u00a0Headland to show the rates and direction of sand movement.
\n\u201cThis is\u00a0essential\u00a0to assessing\u00a0how\u00a0each potential coastal management option\u00a0will impact the\u00a0behaviour of the entire Bight,\u201d Ms\u00a0Rigby\u00a0said.
\n\u201cThe\u00a0study confirms that the natural pattern of erosion experienced by Stockton Beach is exacerbated by the Newcastle Harbour breakwaters and navigational channel,\u00a0which combine to create a physical barrier to natural sand movement.
\n\u201cPresently\u00a0an average of\u00a034,000\u00a0cubic metres\u00a0per\u00a0year\u00a0is\u00a0restored to Stockton\u00a0Beach\u00a0by\u00a0the\u00a0dredging of\u00a0sand from\u00a0the entrance channel and 36,500\u00a0cubic metres\u00a0per year\u00a0is accumulated at Nobbys.
\n\u201cThe\u00a0Port of Newcastle\u2019s\u00a0David Allan dredge\u00a0picks\u00a0sand\u00a0up in the harbour entrance and deposits it offshore from Stockton Beach.
\n\u201cCurrently the rate of loss along the southern section of the\u00a0Beach is estimated at 112,000\u00a0cubic\u00a0metres\u00a0 per\u00a0year.\u00a0Prior to the formalisation of river entrance, it\u00a0is estimated\u00a0that\u00a0100,000\u00a0cubic metres of sand\u00a0passed Nobbys\u00a0Headland.
\n\u201cAs a\u00a0result,\u00a0the\u00a0overall\u00a0northerly\u00a0loss of sand is a key management consideration of the Stockton CMP.\u201d
\nCity of Newcastle will work with landowners and the community in the new year regarding management actions. The Stockton Sand Movement Study can be accessed\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

City of Newcastle\u00a0welcomes the NSW Government\u2019s\u00a0move to apply\u00a0for an\u00a0offshore\u00a0exploration licence\u00a0that will allow for the\u00a0investigation\u00a0of a suitable sand source to put sand back on the beach\u00a0at Stockton. Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional NSW John\u00a0Barilaro\u00a0chaired a Stockton Beach Taskforce meeting\u00a0at City of Newcastle\u2019s Administration Centre\u00a0today\u00a0and discussed\u00a0how\u00a0the exploration licence\u00a0would allow\u00a0for the\u00a0examination\u00a0a potential source of sand needed to … Continue reading “Application for sand source exploration licence a step closer to returning a sandy beach to Stockton”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9567","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-newcastle"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9567","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9567"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9567\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9567"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9567"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9567"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}