Coastal Hazard Assessment · MCU25/0087

                                           17 The Esplanade, Sunshine Beach                                Report


5.2      Erosion Prone Area Reassessment
The declared erosion prone area for the Noosa Shire Council area is provided on Department of
Environment and Science Plan Number NOS3A dated 8 July 2015 (Appendix B). This shows an
erosion prone area width for Sunshine Beach (segment NOS001) of 175m measured inland from the
seaward toe of the frontal dune.
Noosa Shire Council has completed a Coastal Hazard Adaptation Study (CHAS) through the QCoast
2100 program. Phase 3 of the CHAS involved refining coastal hazard mapping, including
reassessment of the erosion prone area. The study was undertaken by BMT (2018). It should be
noted that the assessment by BMT (2018) was at a beach compartment scale and did not provide
site-specific estimation of erosion vulnerability The beach compartment which 17 The Esplanade,
Sunshine Beach falls in is based off survey data from ETA 602. It should be noted that this profile is
located 414m to the south of the property site and 1km to the south of Noosa Headland (refer Figure
5-1)
The following sections will review each component of the Erosion prone area based on site-specific
conditions.
5.2.1    Long-term Erosion (N x R)
The long-term erosion component is based on the selected planning period (N) and the average
annual rate of long-term erosion (R).
In relation to the planning period, the (Department of Environment and Heritage Protection, 2013)
states, ‘The long-term erosion component (excluding sea level rise) of the calculation is often cyclical
in nature and typically of a decadal scale. For this reason, it is considered the estimated annual rate
of long-term erosion is only applied for a 50-year period’. Where there is no clear evidence of long-
term erosion trends, the Department recommends a nominal provision of 10 metres.
The annual rate of long-term erosion (R) reflects changes to sediment supply to a beach and where
there is a long-term deficit in sediment supply this results in a longer-term recession of the shoreline.
BMT (2018) has calculated a long-term erosion rate of 0.03 metres/year for Sunshine Coast at beach
profile line ETA 602, located approximately 1km south of Head Noosa. Table 5-1 provides a summary
of BMT (2018) estimated long-term erosion for 2040, 2070 and 2100.
Table 5-1 Summary of Long-Term Recession Results from BMT (2018)
        Beach         Survey       Annual Recession                     Long-term Recession (m)
                      Profile        Rate (m/year)
                                                          2040 (N=23)         2070 (N=53)         2100 (N=3)
  Sunshine Beach      ETA 602            0.03                 0.7                 1.6                2.5



The subject site is located approximately 586m south of Noosa Headland which plays a significant
role in sediment transport processes along this beach as discussed in Section 4.3. This is supported
by the analysis of aerial and satellite imagery presented in Section 3 which has shown recovery and
progradation of the beach adjacent to the site since severe storm event related erosion in the early
1970’s. Further, Section 3.1 highlights sensitivities associated with reporting intervals for long-term
recession and the need to select suitable start and end dates for any analysis, which are not
influenced by episodic erosion events.
Given the long-term stability of this section of coast a nominal 10m has been adopted in accordance
with the (Department of Environment and Heritage Protection, 2013).




                                                               252662-MN-RP-CO-0001B | 10 November 2025 | Page 22