Cyclone Debbie tail end hits cliff below 2015's record-breaking $24m Herne Bay mansion

A cliff beneath a Herne Bay mansion which set 2015's national price record of $24 million has been damaged by the remnants of Cyclone Debbie.

Ben Cook, who owns the Sentinel Rd waterfront house, said the storm had damaged a big tree on the cliff face.

New slips around the western side of the property on Sentinel Road in Herne Bay owned by Ben Cook. Photo / Michael Craig

"What happened is that heavy rainfall caused a large Pohutukawa tree with established roots on the western side of the property to fall. This is different from erosion," Cook said today.

The damage is on the Home Bay side, just around from Sentinel Bay where Cook is having the crumbling sea wall rebuilt. Cook said he was paying for the extensive work on the cliff which extends beneath the eastern face of his property. Barges, skips and heavy earth-moving equipment, including diggers have been working at the eastern cliff edge beside the popular north-facing beach.

But this week's storms caused damage around the point beneath Cook's house on the western side. Cook is not concerned about his house.

"Engineers have happily advised that there is no risk whatsoever to my dwelling," he said.

Lindesay Construction, a multi-award winning specialist in hi-spec building, is working on the eastern stabilisation.

Cook told last month how the eastern cliff stabilisation work was important for the area.

"We are rebuilding a concrete crib wall which extends along the eastern face of my property, along Sentinel beach," he said.

"We were conscious that a lot of people recreate on Sentinel beach, next to the crib wall and we believed it posed a safety hazard to the public. So we decided to be proactive and apply to council for a consent to rebuild the wall," he said in March.

"As part of the rebuild, we have had to excavate the eastern cliff face of our property, which is why things look so messy presently. No part of our driveway has fallen down," Cook said at the time.