Witton Bluff Base Trail

Coast Protection Board Inquiry

In March this year council was advised that the Minister for the Environment and Water had referred the project to the Coast Protection Board in an effort to ensure the project is considered in an environmentally sustainable manner.

The report from the Coast Protection Board is now completed and has been publicly released.

The report findings include that the project was unlikely to have any unacceptable environmental impacts on the coastal environment (terrestrial and marine), landform and coastal processes and complies with the Board’s coastal access, environmental and hazard polices. The report proposes some additional recommendations regarding the approach to design and construction of the project which council accept.

The report should provide greater confidence that environmental and legislative requirements are being met.

A full copy of the report is available on the Department of Environment and Water's website.

The design process will include consultation with the Department of Environment and Water (Coast and Marine Branch and Marine Parks) to ensure that the potential impacts on the environment are managed throughout the construction.

Upgrade of the Existing Path

The protection of the Witton Bluff cliffs from coastal erosion has been a long-term strategy of Council and the State Government. Past works included the construction of the existing seawalls to protect the cliff from further erosion.

Investigations have been undertaken on the existing seawall to understand both the current condition of the seawall and what future adaptations would be required to allow for the impact of climate change. Future adaptations of the seawalls may include raising and widening the crest of the seawall, increasing the size of the armour rocks and the installation of a wave return wall.

It is important to note that these adaptations are not required immediately but understanding the works that may be required in the future is an important design consideration.

Ongoing monitoring of the coastline and cliff faces will continue to inform our coastal adaptation strategy and the further protection work that may be required in the future. The base trail is being designed to allow for future adaptations.

Boardwalk (Port Noarlunga to existing path on the seawall)

Council is using an Early Contractor Involvement process to ensure that constructability is considered as a key part of the design. Following a tender process, Council has appointed BluBuilt Constructions (Blubuilt) to undertake the design and construction of the boardwalk section of the base trail.

Blubuilt has assembled a team of consultants including structural engineers experienced with marine structures and landscape architects to undertake the design. They have extensive experience with coastal work having delivered the Foreshore Access Plan Stage 2 (Port Noarlunga South) and the Snapper Point and South Port boardwalks for the City of Onkaparinga and have also delivered Coast Park developments at Minda Dunes, Kingston Park and Henley Beach.

The first stage of the design is to develop concept designs for the boardwalk. The concept and detailed design will be guided by technical investigations, state funding requirements, and feedback provided by the community and stakeholders.

In designing the boardwalk, the impacts of climate change and future sea level rise have been considered. This includes things like setting the height of the boardwalk so that it allows for sea level rise and ensuring the structure is designed for future ocean conditions.

Following approval by Council the concept plans will be issued to the community.

ENGAGEMENT

Community Engagement was undertaken in September 2020 to consult with the community on the desired outcomes of the project, gather information to be considered during the design and construction process and to inform the community and stakeholders of the project.

The engagement allowed the community to express their views on the concept design with the majority of people interacting with both the social media posts and Council’s Your Say website supporting the concept. The Yoursay survey as part of this engagement had 81 people (64%) support the concept and 45 people (35%) not support the concept. On Facebook, 934 people (99.7%) had positive reactions to the concept.

Recognising that the coast of our council is significant to Kaurna in the context of the Tjilbruke Dreaming Track, council remains focussed on the continued engagement with Kaurna to ensure that cultural considerations can be incorporated into the project. While these important discussions with Kaurna may take time, this is a critical part of the project that cannot be compromised.

Read the full Engagement Feedback Report.

BACKGROUND

Work commenced on the Witton Bluff Base Trail after Council was successful in obtaining a grant from the Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure towards the design and construction of the project.

The Witton Bluff Base Trail project involves the construction of a shared use pathway around Witton Bluff, between the foreshore at Christies Beach and Port Noarlunga. The project is to seal the existing gravel path from the Christies Beach foreshore to the Bluff and continue with a new boardwalk pathway around the base of the cliffs and above the limestone shelf to the Port Noarlunga foreshore.

It will provide a considerable tourist draw card, creating a unique experience with the shared use path close to the water’s edge.

It forms part of the State Government's Coast Park vision for Greater Adelaide to develop a coastal linear park including a 70km shared use path from North Haven to Sellicks Beach. Within our council area we have 31km of the Coast park trail we have divided into three sections; Northern, Central and Southern. Seventeen kilometres (17km) has already been completed. To learn more about each section, including timeframes for construction, please view the Coast Park Plan 2019.

This project also contributes to the City of Onkaparinga Tourism Strategic Plan 2019 – 2023, which identifies Port Noarlunga and Christies Beach as two key coastal villages; with the Port Noarlunga reef named as one of the most dived spots in South Australia and Port Noarlunga and Christies Beaches promoted by South Australian Tourism as part of the 5 best beaches in Adelaide.