'Urgent need' to save homes from the sea

Fears that more houses will be swept away by the sea have sparked the most submissions to the Hastings District Council annual plan.

In Haumoana, where two houses have already fallen into the sea and more are under threat, residents have been fighting for protection for decades. In March, a storm smashed windows, flooded a house and pulled a garage into the sea.

Of the 129 submissions received, nearly a third related to erosion in Haumoana and Waimarama.

Walking on Water, or WOW, a group of residents fighting for groynes to protect homes and roads, argued that installing groynes was the only way to protect "the edge of Hawke's Bay".

It believed a council estimate of $18 million for 13 groynes was designed to frighten residents into agreeing to be moved away from the beachfront.

The council said last year that, as it was unlikely any engineering solution would get resource consent, moving Haumoana residents away from the beach was its preferred option.

WOW had since come up with its own engineer's plan and believes $6.7m is needed for three groynes. The coast's lack of protection was not fair, the group said.

Some coastal communities were protected by groynes, and stop banks were a common feature of rivers to protect rural and urban dwellers from floods. "WOW is concerned the urgent need of the Cape Coast community continues to be ignored."

In Waimarama, where rock stacked against the dune face protected 38 homes, the argument was about who should pay to maintain the 30-year-old wall.

Most residents wanted the wall maintained, but those who lived away from the beach wanted seaside dwellers to bear most of the annual $30,000 cost.

The council heard submissions last week and its annual plan is due to be adopted on June 24.

- © Fairfax NZ News