Auckland Council has been granted permission to build a seawall and walkway at Orewa Beach after a lengthy legal battle.
The interim decision follows an appeal to the Environment Court after the council’s original proposal for resource consent was declined.
Since 2010, a seawall for the 600-metre stretch of the beach between Kohu St and Marine View has been sought, but rejected on a number of occasions.
Auckland Council’s community facilities department has continued its lengthy fight because of how badly the area is affected by erosion from storms.
The Environment Court decision said the proposed walkway and associated seawall was supported by some Orewa residents and opposed by others.
Reasons for opposing the seawall included it blocking access to the beach, the lowering and narrowing of the beach eliminating dry sand areas at high tide, and people believing the wall could contribute to beach erosion in the long term.
In the council’s amended proposal, it said it would delete elements that would take up too much space and redesign the structure in accordance with what design principles had been agreed on by expert landscape architects.
Auckland Council said it would also add a condition to adopt measures to manage any conflict between different users of the pathway.
Judge David Kirkpatrick said the court acknowledged the “numerous benefits” of the proposal when considering the adverse affects of the seawall.
An Auckland Council spokesperson said the interim decision showed the court was supportive of the proposal.
Article by Stuff.co.nz
