The Shoalhaven City Coastline Management Plan is a strategic sustainability plan prepared by Council, in conjunction with the NSW Department of Natural Resources. The project is funded by Council, Department of Natural Resources and the Commonwealth Natural Disaster Mitigation Program.

The requirements of the Plan are set out in the NSW Coastal Protection Act, NSW Coastal Policy and the NSW Coastline Management Manual. The Plan is one of a suite of natural resource management plans, under the broad umbrella of the Catchment Action Plan which was prepared by the Southern Rivers Catchment Management Authority (currently awaiting final endorsement by the Minister for Natural Resources).

The Coastline Management Plan may be gazetted as a statutory plan, giving its recommended actions greater power.



Decisions made by Shoalhaven City Council have important consequences for sustainability in the coastal zone. Council is responsible for land use planning (through the Local Environmental Plan and local settlement strategies), for development assessment, for managing parks and reserves, for recreational safety on beaches and for emergency services. It is also responsible for many aspects of vegetation, fire and waste management that affect the amenity of the coastline.

The Coastline Management Plan ensures that these responsibilities are implemented in a co-ordinated manner, with a focus on the overall sustainability of coastline values.

In preparing a Coastline Management Plan, Council prepares detailed studies of coastal hazards, such as storm erosion and long term shoreline recession of sandy beaches, sand drift, climate change, inundation and landslip on cliffs and bluffs. The Plan contains measures to minimise the effect that these hazards have on the natural beauty, biodiversity and amenity of the coastline, as well as measures to ensure that housing and community assets are situated and managed to minimize risk.

Conversely, a Coastline Management Plan also contains measures to ensure that coastal development is properly planned to protect important community values such as scenic coastal landscapes, lifestyles, recreational enjoyment, heritage, accessibility and employment.

The Coastline Management Plan will set out Council's and the community's objectives for the whole of the coastal zone of Shoalhaven City, with systematic strategies to achieve those objectives. The strategies will be developed with consultation between Council, State government and the local communities of Shoalhaven City.