Community engagement is underway as the council examines the issue of Lake Cathie revetment wall funding.
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A 440 metre-long Illaroo Road revetment wall with sand nourishment is Port Macquarie-Hastings Council's preferred option to deal with coastal erosion at Lake Cathie.
The revetment wall would provide protection to 41 properties as well as assets including roads and carparking, and water, sewerage and stormwater infrastructure.
The preferred solution was presented to the state government, which requested a cost benefit analysis be prepared to analyse the project's viability and a funding model to outline the distribution of costs to direct and indirect beneficiaries.
The council is consulting with property owners who would directly benefit from a revetment wall, in addition to the surrounding Lake Cathie community, to discuss the findings of the cost benefit analysis and the funding model.
The engagement will determine if the property owners directly benefiting from the construction of a revetment wall have the capacity or willingness to fund the revetment wall.
An affected resident said residents were extremely disappointed in how long the cost benefit analysis had taken council to complete with no consultation with affected residents or the broader Lake Cathie community in that time.
"We are unsure of council's intention here and can only hope that common sense prevails in council's engagement with affected residents and the Lake Cathie community going forward," the resident said.
Directly affected residents received information in a letterbox drop on Tuesday, February, 9, which included details about how the cost benefit analysis was carried out and proposed contribution arrangements.
It is understood the broader Lake Cathie community is disappointed with the proposed funding options.
The revetment wall design includes linking footpaths, seating, lighting, beach access stairs, and a beach access ramp. It will also provide formalised parking spaces within Bundella Avenue and the installation of new kerb and gutter along Illaroo Road.
Council director of development and environment Mel Watkins said the protection of properties from coastal erosion at Lake Cathie had been a project the council had been working on for an extended period of time with input from state government and relevant experts.
"This phase of a proposed revetment wall project involves engagement with the potentially impacted property owners to assist in their understanding of the project and the potential impacts on them," she said.
"This engagement will assist council in determining future actions to address this significant issue for the Lake Cathie community."
The revetment wall would extend from Bundella Avenue, along Illaroo Road to Jonathon Dickson Reserve.
No decision has been made on how the revetment wall will be funded.
There will be a meeting for the Lake Cathie community at Lake Cathie Bowling Club on Tuesday, February 23 from 5.30pm.
Numbers at the community meeting are limited due to COVID-19 and RVSP is essential.
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