Surf Amenity Impact Assessment — Newcastle Southern Beaches CMP

Merewether–Bar Beach, Newcastle, NSW, Australia

City of Newcastle / Haskoning Australia | 2024

Key surf spots between Merewether and Bar Beach assessed as part of the Newcastle Southern Beaches Coastal Management Program.

Protecting Surf Amenity in Coastal Management

The stretch of coast between Merewether Headland and Bar Beach Headland is home to a National Surfing Reserve and a number of recognised surf breaks.

Engaged by Haskoning Australia for the City of Newcastle’s Southern Beaches Coastal Management Program, Intercoastal undertook a surf amenity impact assessment of proposed coastal management options for the key surf spots within the Merewether, Dixon Park and Bar Beach compartment.

The assessment provided a science-based understanding of the conditions that create surf amenity at each break and considered the potential impacts of proposed coastal protection options.

Project Highlights

Surf amenity assessment
Assessment of key surf spots between Merewether and Bar Beach

Metocean & geomorphic conditions
Defining the physical conditions that contribute to surf amenity

Coastal management options
Assessing potential impacts of proposed coastal protection options

Stakeholder engagement
Assessment verified through engagement with recognised Newcastle surfing custodians

Defining the Conditions that Create Surf Amenity

Understanding potential impacts on surf amenity first required defining the conditions that create surfable waves at each location.

Intercoastal investigated long-term metocean data, bathymetric and topographic survey data, together with satellite and historical imagery, to define the metocean and geomorphic conditions that contribute to surf amenity at the recognised surf spots between Merewether Headland and Bar Beach Headland.

This established a technical basis for assessing how proposed coastal management options could potentially affect surf amenity.

Assessment of wind speed and direction as part of defining the conditions that contribute to surf amenity.

Assessing Potential Impacts on Surf Amenity

Intercoastal undertook a preliminary science-based Surf Amenity Impact Assessment of the coastal protection options proposed at the different locations.

The assessment considered the defined surf amenity conditions at each surf spot to identify possible impacts associated with the proposed coastal management options.

This allowed surf amenity to be considered alongside other factors within the City’s longer-term coastal management process.

Combining Technical Assessment with Local Knowledge

Stakeholder engagement formed an important part of the assessment.

The technical assessment was verified through extensive engagement with recognised Newcastle surfing custodians, bringing local knowledge of the surf breaks together with analysis of the physical coastal conditions.

This process supported an assessment grounded in both long-term coastal data and knowledge of how the surf breaks perform in practice.

Embedding Surf Amenity in Coastal Management

The assessment ensured that surf amenity was considered as part of the City of Newcastle’s long-term Coastal Management Program process.

By defining the conditions that contribute to surf amenity and assessing how proposed coastal management options could affect those conditions, the project provided a structured basis for considering Newcastle’s valued surfing resources within future coastal management decisions.

Intercoastal’s Role

Intercoastal undertook the Surf Amenity Impact Assessment for the key surf spots within the Merewether, Dixon Park and Bar Beach compartment.

The work included investigation of long-term metocean, bathymetric and topographic survey data, satellite and historical imagery, preliminary science-based assessment of potential impacts associated with coastal protection options, and stakeholder engagement with recognised Newcastle surfing custodians.

Project Details

Client: City of Newcastle / Haskoning Australia
Location: Merewether–Bar Beach, Newcastle, NSW, Australia
Project period: 2024
Services: Surf & Coastal Amenity · Coastal Modelling & Investigations