Shoreline erosion management plan

The Sunshine Coast has over 100 kilometres of coastal foreshores. This includes many world-class beaches and iconic rocky headlands. These environments are highly valued by locals and tourists for their cultural, ecological and recreational functions.

Council manages most of the local coastline and places great importance on the health of dunes and beaches. The coastline is constantly changing and council’s coastal planning and management effort has to adapt to the influence of coastal hazards such as erosion. Council coastal management programs include:

• on-ground works
• community partnerships
• a policy and planning framework that helps tie everything together.

The strategy and planning framework includes the coastal policy and shoreline erosion management plan.

Coastal management policy (public lands)

The purpose of the coastal management policy (public lands) (PDF, 243KB) is to guide and inform council’s coastal management activities on public land, including:

• capital works
• operational works
• emergency works
• development assessment
• community engagement.

The policy’s main objective is the long-term protection, sustainable use and enjoyment of coastal public lands and assets.

Shoreline erosion management plan (SEMP)

The SEMP provides a 10 year action plan that describes key coastal processes along the Sunshine Coast and identifies council controlled assets that are exposed to current shoreline erosion threats. The SEMP addresses priority erosion issues at specific locations and recommends preferred management options that are underpinned by sound science, coastal engineering principles and community values.

The SEMP can be downloaded in parts below. The following downloads are generally of a technical nature.

• executive summary (PDF, 3069KB)
• part I – background (PDF, 1299KB):
  • introduction
  • planning and legislative background
  • coastal processes, resources and values
  • common shoreline erosion measures
  • the SEMP preparation method.
• part II – the plan (PDF, 2405KB):
  • 6.1 general management, monitoring and review 6.2 sand sourcing study
  • 6.3 zone 1: Coolum Beach to Mudjimba
  • 6.4 zone 2: Mudjimba to Point Cartwright
  • 6.5 zone 3: Point Cartwright to Caloundra head
  • 6.6 zone 4: Caloundra Headland to SCC Southern boundary
  • glossary, abbreviations and bibliography.
• appendix A: mapping:
  • maps 1 to 15 (PDF, 9.93MB)
  • maps 16 to 28 (PDF, 7826KB).

Studies

The following documents are technical background studies that have informed the SEMP:

• legislative framework and generic shoreline management options (PDF, 7474KB)
• coastal processes study for the Sunshine Coast (PDF, 6460KB).

Coastal hazard maps

The Department of Environment and Heritage Protection has developed coastal hazard maps that show the predicted impact of coastal hazards.

If you would like more information about coastal management, please contact council.