City to press Minister on Two Rocks beach erosion

The City of Wanneroo’s October Council meeting also voted to remove the existing Sovereign Drive stairway, in the interests of public safety, and to immediately engage an engineering consultancy to undertake a Feasibility Study and Options Assessment for a long-term access solution.

Mayor Tracey Roberts said all of the technical advice received by the City said the stairway could not be salvaged.

“Importantly, I want to thank the community for its feedback and assure residents we will be having further consultation as we allocate funding for a long-term solution in next year’s capital works program,” she said.

“Council will be seeking significant state government financial support for these works because the severe and ongoing coastal erosion in the area is a direct result of construction of the Two Rocks marina.

“I will write to the Minister for Transport asking for an urgent meeting. The City is seeking early implementation of the long term measures recommended in the ‘Two Rocks Coastal Coastal Management Study – March 2015’.

“That might include some re-design of the Two Rocks marina, such as extending the northern seawall to reduce beach erosion further north.

“I will be conveying the City’s significant concerns at the current lack of commitment by the government to addressing coastal erosion at Two Rocks.”

The timeframe presented in the report calls for the outcomes of the engineering feasibility study to be presented to the community early next year and, subject to Council endorsement, to finish construction of the preferred access option for the 2017/18 summer period.

Preliminary estimates put the cost of design and access construction at between $250,000 and $400,000.