Is this the future of Burleigh?

High rise development along Burleigh Esplanade seems to race unabated in creating a wall of concrete, casting shadows over many homes and afternoon shadows over our beach, as well as blocking ocean views from home scattered all over the Burleigh ridge.

Element for example, still in construction (shown with scaffolding), is rumored to have gained permission for extra floors and increased footprint coverage, valued at millions of dollars, in exchange for a new toilet block to be built in the Esplanade park, (not opposite their building)

Sure looks like a a lopsided benefit.

The developers of Element, quoted in their marketing, how they love the feeling of the Burleigh beach lifestyle, but by creating a building with such huge coverage it doesn't seem like they have captured any of that spirit, just chasing more dollars.

Ambiance, at the southern end of the Esplanade responded to the communities voice regarding an overly high development on the beachfront block and followed the requirements of the town plan.

Local council and state government respond to the voice of residents, but many of the residents along the Esplanade are elderly and don't have the knowledge, resources or have the financial backing to defend such development applications. This is what the town plan is supposed to do and which we all have an opportunity to contribute to. If a property is purchased after a town plan has been implemented then the development should be bound by the plan.

I recognize that high rise living is part of the Gold Coast life style, but creating buildings that destroy the very reason why we have come to live here, is not only creating shadowed, windy canyons of concrete but is greedy development and not in the spirit of Burleigh.

Sand Management at Burleigh Heads

The recent high seas created heavy erosion on most Gold Coast Beaches, but Burleigh escaped relatively unharmed. Being protected by the Burleigh Headland national park, which stands sentinel over the small township, Burleigh has still been drawn into the sand pumping issues which have affected the southern end of the Gold Coast.

As you can see from the main photo at the top of the blog, the beach has been around the width that it is now for nearly 90 years.

When the subject of pumping sand onto Burleigh was raised many people expressed a wide range of concerns which need to be resolved before any pumping should go ahead.

The area effected by sand movement along the coast is wider than just the beaches, issues such as flood mitigation for Palm Beach canal development, Tallebudgera Creek mouth stabilization, tidal flow through Tallebudgera up to and including Fleays Fauna Reserve all need to be considered, as well as the sand on Burleigh beach and the safety of the popular Tallebudgera swimming area.

Messing around with the natural flow of sand has wide reaching implications for not just the beaches but for a broad surrounding area.

The last thing Burleigh needs is a sand wasteland that not only has turned Kirra into a desert, but has had major impact on business and tourism as well.

Previously, dredging at Tallebudgera creek mouth may have solved the Palm Beach flood mitigation problems and added sand to the beach at Burleigh, but has created increased water flow through the creek mouth. The sand delta of the creek mouth is natures way of softening the tidal flow both in and out of the creek.

From the furtherest tidal reaches up the creek, the influences on fish and water bird breeding grounds will be noticeable. Closer to the coast the deeper water entrance and increased water flow results in a more dangerous situation in one of the Gold Coasts already notorious swimming spots. During the low tide when the sandbanks are most noticeable, the amount of water flowing into the entrance will create greater currents through a wider entrance, while on the high tide the extra water flowing over the bank will draw any sand buildup out to sea.

The effect of the Talle groyne deflects sand further out to sea than would be normal this also limits the amount of sand that runs parallel to the coastline. The flow on effects from the destabilized creek mouth runs around the base of the headland creating deep holes in the undulating depth of the sand bank. This destroys the long smooth sandbanks that create the waves that Burleigh Heads has become famous for. These hollows in the sand banks then make their way north which continues the erosion problem

Before any more decisions by so called experts, that created the problems from sand mining, groynes and sand pumping, are to go ahead we should consider the other options than one large dredging operation from Talle Creek onto Burleigh beach. If sand replenishment to Burleigh beach has to be done than we should look at other options such as smaller and more frequent sand replenishment so as not to disrupt the coastal sand flow. Other options may include sand from out to sea or from areas where the sand build up needs to be reduced such as Kirra.