Wednesday Write In: Create amenity at Hardinge Rd

The erosion along Hardinge Rd.

The HB Today article, "Seashore at Ahuriri shrinking", describing the encroachment of the new pathway at Hardinge Rd should concern all ratepayers. The cause of erosion is obvious and well documented, and the problem is simply a lack of maintenance.

Rock rubble from quarries around the Hill was used to protect this beach prior to the 1931 earthquake. The progressive construction of the breakwater had sheltered this area so, from the late 1950s, rocks were regularly removed for use in reclamation. In 1969, the Port used extra heavy machinery to remove a greater volume of rock from the inshore. The extraction of these wave dissipating rocks and the lack of maintenance since have left this shoreline exposed to erosion from E and NE swells.

Up until the early 1970s, shingle shifted in the northerly drift around the breakwater and constantly accumulated at Perfume Point where it either overflowed across to Westshore Beach or was removed by trucks in large quantities. By the late 1970s, crucial breakwater extensions and harbour dredging had totally impeded the flow of shingle onto the Hardinge Rd beaches and caused the gravel pit behind the old Deep Sea Fisheries factory to close.

The peer review of my assessment in 2010 and the seminar that followed led to the consultants conceding that Westshore Beach was in a state of permanent erosion. This also applies to Hardinge Rd so the NCC spokesperson saying "he had not noticed the erosion" is staggering especially when the new Pathway is so close. Preventative maintenance will reduce repair costs and limit the waste of ratepayer funds.

Shoreline rock protection is successful worldwide providing it is well constructed and kept interlocked until maintenance becomes minimal. The maintenance-free seawall at the Port end of Hardinge Rd can be compared to the unattended mid-section controlled by the NCC. Rock protection at the southern end of Westshore is in similar condition but instead of simple strengthening, as endorsed by the consultants, the council has opted to spend $4m on a reef-destroying breakwater project.

Recent letters to the Editor headed "Beach Shame" and "Make our Beaches Attractive" are consistent with my letters since 2009. However, with respect for those with a common interest, the remedy will be lost if attention is diverted to impractical and uneconomic solutions for our beaches. Groynes, artificial reefs, submerged islands, types of offshore barriers, filled concrete cylinders etc are not the solution for a shoreline which is suffering permanent irreversible erosion. In the future, any form of beach at Hardinge Rd and Westshore will be totally dependent on imported material.

This council quote Napier's beautiful beaches to promote tourism but they cannot and will not deliver. The Hardinge Rd shoreline presents an opportunity for an everlasting amenity for the region. Construct a proper seawall (will not be visible from the road), build a small rock groyne (to work similar to the east pier to retain beach material), remove most inshore rocks (have no real purpose and allow a user-friendly beach) and form a beach (by importing surplus gravel from the Marine Parade).

A beach to enhance the environment will be safer than pre-1890, when Hardinge Rd was on a shingle spit, plus it will be simple and cheap to create. This is providing it is not hogtied by countless reports and subjected to legal issues that have held up Resource Consent for the Westshore breakwater for over two years, so far. We can blame the Port development for spoiling the original beach but we can thank them for providing a safe sheltered area to build a safe swimming beach and picnic area.

This regional amenity would be positive for Napier and ideally located between the city centre and the development at Ahuriri. The cost to the ratepayer would be less than the new City to Ahuriri transfer bus service or the annual cost to operate the new Museum & Art Gallery.

Larry Dallimore, Westshore