The main public beach in Byron Bay has experienced significant erosion in recent years, particularly after a 2020 storm event which removed the front face of the dune system. To address this, Byron Shire Council adopted the same beach scraping and dune revegetation strategy as had been successful at nearby New Brighton beach. The top 20-30cm of sand from the intertidal section of beach will be scraped and replaced onto the dune area. This will be followed up with dune revegetation work and pedestrian access fencing.
Beach renourishment
Method: Scraped
Sand source: Same sediment compartment
Sand volume (m2): 9000
Sand placement: Dune area
Frequency of renourishment: Once
Date of first renourishment: 2022
Date of last renourishment: 2022
Dune replanting or construction
Method: Revegetation, Rehabilitation
Rehabilitation - method: Restrict pedestrian access
Revegetation - species: Carpobrotus (Pigface), Spinifex sericeus (Coastal spinifex) Canavalia rosea (Beach bean) Ipomoea pes-caprae (Goat's foot), Acacia spp and Banksia spp after groundcover establishment
Approach
Beach renourishment, Dune replanting or construction
Geographic context
Open coast
Organisation responsible
Byron Shire Council
Primary objective
Coastal protection
Coastal hazard
Erosion
Asset vulnerable
Natural, Recreational, Built
Length of coastline targeted (m)
750
Date of completion
2022
Source of project funding
State government, Local government
Project approvals needed
State, Local, Federal (Marine Parks), Native title