New Brighton/Sumner surveys to help with beach planning

7 December 2004

A number of New Brighton and Sumner beach users will be surveyed this summer to help the Council plan for the future of these beaches.

“The information gathered from the studies will tell us about the people who use the beaches; what they do when they get there and preferences in the way they use these areas,” Council Parks and Waterways area advocate, Robyn Croucher says.

The surveys will be undertaken in New Brighton from mid December until mid January between Beach Rd and Shackleton St and in Sumner from mid December until mid February between Moncks Bay and the end of the Sumner Esplanade.

“Official surveyors will carry identification,” Ms Croucher says.  “Because the studies require random samples of beach users, they will be talking to a range of people and won’t be able to interview anyone who approaches them,” she says.

Early in the New Year, the Council will however be seeking help from volunteers in a study of the plants and animals that live in the sand dunes between Beach Rd and Shackleton St. Most of this investigation will be done in February 2005. Anyone willing to assist is invited to call the Council’s Leisure and Parks Customer Call Centre on 941 6840.

The New Brighton studies will both be used as part of the Council’s ongoing research into the possibility of lowering the sand dunes between Beach Rd and Shackleton St. After the findings from the studies have been collated, a public meeting will be called so that the information can be passed on to local residents and other interested individuals. Findings from the Sumner survey will be incorporated into the development of a draft master plan for the Moncks Bay to Scarborough area, which will be made available for public comment in June 2005.

As part of improving dune management over the past 25 years, a large amount of research and monitoring has been carried out by several organisations, including the City Council, Environment Canterbury and Canterbury University. The Council is in the process of pulling all of this information together to help with assessing the potential implications of lowering the sand dunes.

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