Pākawau Beach residents in Golden Bay have been working to manage coastal erosion risks for over a decade, only to find their latest protection efforts blocked by a new council policy.
This new policy requires homeowners to pay a bond equal to the construction cost of protective rock walls before building them – effectively doubling the expense.
Under the Tasman District Council policy finalized in June 2024, residents must provide upfront funding for both the installation and potential future removal of any coastal protection structures on reserve land.
Representing the Pākawau Community Residents' Association, Mark Morris called the requirement "unfair and unjust" in an interview with The Press, noting residents were "stunned" to discover they would need to invest in construction while knowing the council could remove the structures at any time.
The issue is particularly challenging for elderly residents. According to Laurie Jarrett, the association's erosion protection leader, the combined costs – approximately $35,000 per section – are simply unaffordable for many.
"Those old pensioners had to find double the money, and they just can't," Jarrett said. "When you're in your 80s, you try and get a loan, you're not going to live long enough to pay it back."
The community's efforts began after extreme storm events in 2013 washed away six to eight metres of the esplanade reserve.
After an initial application for a 345-meter protection zone was rejected in 2019, residents adopted an incremental approach, securing approval for three properties before applying for protection for three more in March 2023.
Jarrett described their previous success as "a three-day job that took 11 years to get permission for," highlighting the persistence residents have shown in their risk management efforts. Some elderly community members were "amazed that the rocks were finally put in place before they died," he said.
The council maintains that its policy reflects the reality that sea level rise makes managed retreat inevitable for most coastal properties, and that ratepayers shouldn't bear the increasing costs of maintaining coastal protection structures.
A council spokesperson confirmed that the dollar amount of the bond was being assessed by an engineer nominated by the landowners, and that the resource consent application has been on hold since May 2024, when additional information was requested.
For many Pākawau residents, the situation reflects a contradiction where they are encouraged to take responsibility for protecting their own properties, yet facing policy barriers that make doing so practically impossible.
"We're bashing our head against a brick wall," Jarrett said.
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