Beachmere shoreline management

The Beachmere shoreline is naturally affected by erosion and can take a long time to recover from severe weather events. Property owners who are concerned about erosion risks need to consider the options available to protect their properties.

This page provides information about pathways that meet the needs of property owners, Council requirements and State Government legislation. 

The information provided is subject to development approval, expected in October 2022. Property owners will be notified by Council when this occurs.

Choose your pathway

Consider your own property and personal preferences to choose your pathway:

  • build a new seawall
  • manage dunes and vegetation either long term or to delay the need for a seawall
  • ensure the seawall you have is compliant and maintained. 

Building a new seawall

This is the preferred solution where buildings are within 10 metres of the shoreline and at risk from erosion. Seawalls are very effective at preventing erosion but are likely to result in the loss of sand from the beach in front of the wall over time. New seawalls must be built on the A-line alignment.

For more information about building new seawalls, read the Fact Sheet(PDF, 525KB) or download an accessible version(DOCX, 20KB).

Dune and vegetation management

This is best suited to properties with more space between homes and the shoreline. A well-vegetated dune can help reduce erosion impacts and speed up beach recovery after severe weather events. However, they are not as effective at preventing erosion as seawalls. Choosing dune management will not prevent you from building a seawall in the future.

For more information about managing dunes and vegetation, download the Guidelines(PDF, 3MB).

Approved and unapproved seawalls

Council has secured a Marine Park Permit that allows property owners to access the foreshore to do maintenance or repairs on approved seawalls. If you want to change an existing approved seawall, such as adding stairs or a boat ramp, contact Council (link) to discuss the development application process.

If your property has an unapproved seawall, you may be able to have it recognised as an approved structure if it meets the A-line standards. You will need to remove the seawall if it does not meet that standard. You can then choose to either build a new seawall or re-establish dunes.

For more information, refer to Compliance for unapproved seawalls.

Location of the A-line


Zoom in close within the interactive map to display numbered contours.

Discussions

Erosion along the Beachmere shoreline is caused by many factors including:

  • waves breaking at an angle to the shore
  • changes to the natural environment including buildings and roads which affect the ability of the beach to recover naturally
  • some poorly planned seawalls can increase erosion impacts on neighbouring properties.

The A-Line is an approved design and alignment for seawalls. This is to:

  • ensure seawalls are consistently built and integrated along the foreshore
  • provide better erosion protection 
  • and reduce the negative impacts of seawalls on the sensitive Marine Park environment and other properties. 

All seawalls at Beachmere must be compliant with the A-line alignment and design.

The boundary areas south of the Beachmere Conservation Park are defined by the water that runs along it. This boundary changes as the coastline naturally changes. Building a seawall on the A-line alignment will fix your property boundary to that line. 

Properties on Bayside Drive, north of the Conservation Park, do not have this type of boundary. The A-line alignment in this section follows the physically delineated boundary of the property.

Council has secured a Marine Park Permit and Development Approval for Operational Works. Foreshore property owners can use this to:

  • build new seawalls
  • gain compliance for existing unapproved seawalls. 

Property owners will no longer need to submit development applications for State Government approval to work on seawalls.

For more information on this project, download the Beachmere Shoreline Management Project Summary(PDF, 1MB).

Now that the A-line approval is in place, Council will write to property owners with unapproved seawalls to work with them to ensure they are compliant.

Property owners with unapproved seawalls will need to follow these steps to show that it meets the design standards of the A-line:

  • provide a documented historical approval for the seawall, or
  • have a Registered Professional Engineer of Queensland (RPEQ) certify that the seawall is in good condition - which may require rebuilding part of the seawall, and
  • carry out a cadastral survey, and
  • submit RPEQ as constructed certified plans to Council for the seawall to become a compliant structure.

Any unapproved seawall that cannot achieve compliance will need to be removed. It will otherwise face compliance action, including significant fines.

Download the technical specifications and requirements(PDF, 347KB) for the construction of new seawalls or compliance assessment of existing unapproved seawalls.

Download the Marine Park Permit(PDF, 200KB) for conditions of marine works and State Government notification requirements.

Download the Basis of Design Report(PDF, 7MB) for the design standards of new seawalls or compliance assessment of existing unapproved seawalls.

For more information on Beachmere Shoreline Management, see the Frequently asked questions page.

Contact details

(07) 3205 0555
council@moretonbay.qld.gov.au

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