Te Awanga resident questions $250k seawall spend near closed campground

Te Awanga resident Tim Turvey, inset, is asking why the council is maintaining a rock wall with few residents near it, while Te Awanga remains unprotected.

A Hastings seawall is getting a quarter of a million dollars for maintenance work.

However, a nearby resident has asked why the council is protecting an area with few residents, instead of the many beachfront homes nearby.

Hastings District Council (HDC) is completing maintenance work on the coastal rock wall on Clifton Rd. The wall extends from the now closed Clifton Motor Camp Site 1 to the boat ramp across from Hygge Cafe.

The wall was built in 2019 for $1.3 million and once protected the road out to Site 1, as well as nearby buildings and property.

In February, residents of the Clifton Motor Camp’s No 1 campground received a letter informing them they had just 24 hours to pack up and vacate the area.

The letter said an independent geotechnical report had found a high risk of landslides affecting “much, and possibly all of the campground”.

Residents were told it would likely take millions of dollars of major engineering and drainage work to make the area safe.

The site has been closed since and former residents have removed their property.

The wall maintenance work is at the boat ramp end with a projected cost of $250,000.

Work includes replenishing rock along the wall, installing a stormwater pipe, partial reconstruction of the boat access ramp, drainage improvements and sealing.

Work is expected to be completed by April 10, weather permitting.

Tim Turvey is a long-time resident of nearby Te Awanga, and said the money could have gone to protecting his and his neighbours’ homes, rather than the sparsely populated area.

“A rock wall similar to this in cost could have been put in front of Te Awanga,” he said.

“This would have helped save 400 houses in Te Awanga rather than a costly campground, cafe and farmhouse.

“I’m just annoyed that the town of Te Awanga is forgotten when a council campground takes precedence.”

Turvey said 50 years ago, residents dumped concrete where the rock wall is, which protected the area from erosion.

He said the council removed the concrete around 2011 and erosion then set in, eating away at the motor camp’s road.

HDC then built the road and rock wall.

“It was always a mystery to me that the council would spend all this time and money on such a small camping ground,” he said.

Clifton Station owner Dinah Gordon lives in the farmhouse next to Hygge Cafe.

She recalled people dumping concrete where the sea wall now is and had seen the road to the former motor camp rebuilt four times.

She estimated 20m to 30m of land had been eaten by the sea.

However, Gordon said the sea wall needed continued management by the council, as so much money had already been spent.

Hawke’s Bay Regional Council (HBRC) deputy chair Jerf van Beek said dumping concrete along the shoreline would not be a “compliant activity”.

HBRC acknowledged coastal erosion was a “significant” concern for coastal communities.

However, van Beek said, “at present” Hastings District Council was leading responses to urgent issues at Te Awanga.

These include repairing the beach crest after storms and installing an “EcoReef” to protect the area’s stormwater lagoons.

A HDC spokesperson said the council had budgeted for the rock wall maintenance work.

Any further coastal protection works would be guided by HBRC’s Clifton to Tangoio Coastal Hazards Strategy.

HBRC is set to receive feedback on the strategy from community focus groups this month.

Jack Riddell is a multimedia journalist with Hawke’s Bay Today and has worked in radio and media in the UK, Germany, and New Zealand.