Amberley Beach residents are watching their storm-surge protection bund lengthen and grow.

Renourishment work on the Amberley Beach bund started in late January and is expected to be completed in March.

The renourished bund will be 1100m long, covering the extent of the Amberley Beach township and is constructed of granular fill material similar to natural beach material.

Hurunui District Council Chief Executive Hamish Dobbie said the essential works are part of ongoing efforts to provide storm protection to the beach community.

“The bund was designed by the Amberley Beach Residents and Ratepayers Community last year as one of several options that came out of three years of community-led consultation to proactively manage the risks of coastal inundation.”

The Coastal Adaptation Plan (CAP), adopted by Council in June 2023, sets out how the beach community will adapt to changing risk over the next 100 years.

The bund is designed to reduce the impact of storm surges, which can cause coastal erosion and flooding. Originally built in the 1990s to provide gravels to nourish the beach, today the bund provides protection for the beach community.

The bund has been periodically renourished over the years. Council’s Programme Management Manager Dan Blair said it was due for another renourishment to add volume and height to the beach profile in order to raise the crest elevation and replace eroded material.

Erosion and sediment control measures are being put in place to safeguard against sediment being dispersed by heavy rainfall and high wave conditions during construction.

“Visitors and resident should expect some temporary disruptions, including restricted access to certain areas of the beach where machinery is operating,” Blair said.

Dobbie said the bund is owned by the Amberley Beach community and funded through targeted rates payable to the Hurunui District Council.

The Amberley Beach Coastal Adaptation Plan (CAP) won the NZPI Best Practice Award for Climate Change last year.

• For more information, please visit 
  https://www.hurunui.govt.nz/environment/coastal-conversations-in-the-hurunui/amberley-beach

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