Coastal Management Plan 2021

Have your say on the draft Coastal Management Plan 2021 

The City’s coastline is one of our community’s greatest natural assets attracting thousands of local and regional visitors every year.  Unlike Perth’s more established coastal areas, a significant portion of our coastline remains undeveloped.  However, our coastal suburbs face rapid population growth over the next 30 years.  In addition to development pressures, the coastline is subjected to natural coastal processes such as waves, wind and storm events. 

To manage natural and man-made pressures, the City has developed a draft Coastal Management Plan (draft CMP) to protect the natural environment of our coastal foreshore reserve and beaches, at the same time supporting sustainable development within key coastal areas.  

What is the Coastal Management Plan?

The draft CMP provides a framework to guide the management and use of our coastal foreshore reserve and beaches over the next 15 years.  The draft CMP outlines how the City will manage environmental impacts such as coastal erosion and degradation of vegetation and sand dunes.  It also provides developers with guidance for works within the foreshore and informs the community about infrastructure and amenities that can be expected within the coastal foreshore. 

Seeking to manage the challenges of balancing access to the coastline and protecting it for future generations, the draft CMP has outlined key actions to be undertaken over the next 15 years.  Some of these actions include:

• Identifying where community facilities and other coastal infrastructure can be located by taking into account coastal hazards;
• Proposals for new dog exercise beaches and extension of existing;
• Protection of the plants and animals within the coastal parks and reserves;
• Continuing the City’s coastal dual-use path network;
• Management of seaweed build up at Two Rocks;
• Audit of coastal infrastructure to help with their ongoing maintenance and management; and
• Investigate water sports and ‘swimming only’ areas.

Coastal Management Plan 2012

In July 2012, Council adopted the Coastal Management Plan 2012 (CMP 2012) to address a number of issues associated with the management and use of the City’s beaches, in particular issues relating to animal beaches.  The CMP 2012 contained eight recommendations for the City’s investigation and subsequent action, with the intent that the outcomes of these investigations would inform a more comprehensive CMP. 

The relevant findings from the City’s investigations have informed the draft CMP and incorporated where necessary.

Coastal Hazard Risk Management and Adaptation (CHRMAP)

In July 2013, the State Government gazetted State Planning Policy 2.6: State Coastal Planning (SPP 2.6), requiring a CHRMAP to be prepared for areas affected by coastal hazards over a 100 year planning timeframe. 

Work on the new CMP to replace CMP 2012 was placed on hold until after the completion of CHRMAP. In August 2018, the City adopted the final CHRMAP, allowing the City to commence work on the new CMP.