Bayside Council is getting ready to start extensive work on the Sandringham Bay Seawall to minimise deterioration and improve the existing footpath along this section of Cook Park, Sandringham Bay.
“Council is continually investing in mitigation and remedial measures to help ensure the beachfront is available for all to enjoy now and into the future,” Mayor Dr Christina Curry said.
“Erosion and protection of the foreshore is a shared responsibility between local and state government, and I am pleased Council receives NSW Government grants to help fund these essential works.”
Council awarded the contract to Ford Civil Contracting at the June Council Meeting and they will commence work on site in early August.
The work includes the construction of a rock revetment apron along the toe of the existing seawall to protect it from storms in the Bay. A new 5m wide shared path between Vanston Parade and the Primrose Avenue Walkway will also be built and the area landscaped.
Extensive community consultation has already taken place and residents in the area are aware this section of Cook Park will be temporarily closed to facilitate the construction works.
Access into the Vanston Parade Baths as well as access to the foreshore adjacent to the Georges River Sailing Club in Sandringham Bay will be maintained.
If the wall, damaged by coastal erosion, is not repaired it could collapse into Sandringham Bay adversely affecting Cook Park and nearby dwellings.
The State Government Public Works Department constructed the original in the 1930s, but it has since been handed to Council to maintain.
Bayside Council is currently responsible for the care and maintenance of the full 7km long Lady Robinsons Beach Foreshore which stretches between the Georges River Sans Souci to the Cooks River Kyeemagh. This includes 4km of concrete seawalls.
Council does obtain financial assistance for foreshore works from the Department of Environment and Planning under their Coastal Management Program.
Bayside Council also received a $1million NSW Severe Weather & Flood Grant and a $900,000 TfNSW grant for improvements to cycleway/sharepaths, that will go towards this project. The overall budget is $3.6million.
The project is due to be completed in early 2024 but this is subject to weather conditions.
