After erosion took its carpark, Port Waikato struggles with visitors
Saturday, 7 December 2024
Coastal erosion took part of the car park at Port Waikato’s popular Sunset Beach in the winter.
The lack of car parking is causing trouble for home owners as visitors cut through their properties.
And the surf club is dealing with cars blocking beach access for emergency vehicles.
This year, Port Waikato’s Sunset Beach lost a chunk of its carpark in winter storms, but with summer on its way, beach goers are flocking to the seaside hotspot despite the lack of parking.
Residents of the tiny coastal town say they are struggling with visitors accessing the beach through private property and causing more damage to delicate dunes.
Resident Jo Poland said people have been parking and camping on properties, as well as walking through and traipsing over the sand dunes to get to the beach.
With just 12m between her home and the sea, she said her home is the next to get demolished. “It’s just heartbreaking watching it go.”
Another resident, Kathleen West, said she saw young people deliberately trying to break down the dunes by stomping on the sand.
“Most people don’t know about the dunes and how they need to be cared for,” West said.
“But how do you educate people on that? When they haven’t got the access from the carpark, it probably will happen more.”
West said she learnt about the consequences for dunes when people cut a track where there hadn’t previously been one through community group Port Waikato Beachcare.
“It makes a channel and the wind comes through and speeds up erosion.”
Every local knows about this, she said, but she wanted to see the council put up signage for visitors.
Poland said Waikato District Council (WDC) had offered to put up signs, but so far none have arrived.
Sunset Beach Lifeguard Service president, Malcolm Beattie, said the parking issue is something the council has to address “as a matter of urgency”.
“It’s a major issue when you’ve had a carpark at the beach for 75 years and you haven’t got one now.”
People parking on the street block accessways the club normally uses to get emergency vehicles and boats to and from the beach, Beattie said.
Population growth in the area, with new housing developments at Pōkeno and Paerata, was also having an impact.
“We’re up about 30% on last year with people coming to use the beach. It’s become extremely popular.
“It’s making it very difficult for us, it’s just our total emergency access is under threat and it’s going to continue.”
WDC open spaces services manager, Glyn Morgan, said all beach access points are identified with signage, but the council is looking at possible improvements.
“There are designated access points to the beach available including the vehicle accessway by the community hub, walking access via the northern end of Ocean View Road, and at Maraetai Bay, which includes extensive areas for parking.”
However, he said there is “a finite area for parking within the coastal margins”.
“We request that visitors to the area plan for their activity and are considerate of our communities when visiting.”
Morgan said trespassing on private land is a civil police matter, and the council has notified the police of the public’s concerns.
“We understand that this has been an ongoing issue for a number of years, well before the carpark access was reduced.”
A new community panel, which is being formed to lead future planning for facilities such as public parking, is hoping its first meeting will be early in the new year, Morgan said.
For Beattie, the community is in a “dire emergency”.
He’s part of a residents’ group that has applied to WDC for consent to build temporary dune protection for the toe of the dunes to stop further erosion.
The application is currently with the WDC consent team for processing, Morgan said.