Options revealed for Cosy Corner works

RESIDENTS and visitors to the Surf Coast are being encouraged to provide feedback on potential adaptation options and actions to protect a popular section of Torquay’s coastline.

As part of the Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority’s (GORCAPA) commitment to protect and manage the Great Ocean Road’s coast and parks, it is carrying out coastal adaptation planning to improve the resilience of Cosy Corner.

Feedback is being received online, following an open day where about 50 community members talked through their preferred options.

The timber seawall at Cosy Corner, built in the 1950s and rebuilt or repaired several times, has deteriorated beyond repair.

A row of protective rock bags was placed at the toe of the structure in March 2023 to reduce further undermining, while GORCAPA investigates how to best upgrade the seawall.

 

 

Six adaptation options have been released for the community’s consideration:

A new vertical seawall

A new rock seawall revetment

A new sloped/stepped seawall

Maintenance of the existing seawall and rock bags

Beach nourishment, or

A managed retreat, featuring the creation of a setback zone.

These options were identified based on work done in earlier stages of the coastal adaptation planning process.

This includes:

Assessing coastal processes and hazard exposure

Examining site-specific data and modelling to understand coastal hazard vulnerability and risk, and

Undertaking social, environmental, economic and cultural values assessments.

GORCAPA has thanked the 94 community members who completed the online survey as well as the 24 people who provided their insights via one of the ‘walk and talk’ sessions held at the beach.

The upgrade of the seawall is being delivered with the support of a Victorian government Coastal Erosion Preparedness grant, with concept designs to be released later this year.

The approach to the seawall upgrade follows the direction of the Marine and Coastal Policy 2020 and Victoria’s Resilient Coast – Adapting for 2100+ framework and guidelines.

“The aim of the seawall upgrade is to increase the resilience of this popular stretch of coast, and to better protect it against coastal hazards,” GORCAPA director of infrastructure and planning Cath Olive said.

“We want the community to provide feedback on what they consider to be the most appropriate adaptation option to use to protect Cosy Corner.

“We welcome any further details on what we should consider in the design.”

For more information, including how feedback from the community has informed the ‘Cosy Up’ project, head to haveyoursay.greatoceanroadauthority.vic.gov.au/cosy-up