4 days ago
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The City of Stirling has declared the community has “thrown its support” behind a contentious planned coastal boardwalk snaking from Scarborough to Trigg, pointing to the results of a one-month consultation that showed 70 per cent of respondents supported the proposal.
But that didn’t wash with opponents of the boardwalk, which would wind through sensitive and protected dunes along the northern suburbs’ coast.
They pointed to the fact only 2075 people responded to the survey, which ran from July 30 to August 30 – a number totalling fewer than 1 per cent of the City of Stirling’s roughly 250,000 residents.
A design concept for a coastal boardwalk between Scarborough and Trigg.Credit: City of Stirling
Friends of Trigg Beach convenor Robyn Murphy labelled the survey’s outcome “pre-determined” and said that, given the amount spent on the consultation, the response was poor and the process was “a shocking waste of ratepayers’ money”.
City of Stirling Mark Irwin said he wasn’t surprised the community backed the boardwalk: “Because the benefits are obvious.”
“This is a safer, more scenic and more immersive option for our community, away from the noise and congestion along West Coast Highway,” he said.
“This boardwalk is an idea that’s been talked about for at least 20 years, but this is the first time we’ve actually done the work to find out if it’s a good idea.
“Now, we know it can be done in an environmentally sensitive way, and we know the community is right behind it.”
Murphy, however, said she was “confident that this boardwalk will never be built”.
“It is within a coastal erosion zone and within a Class A Reserve Bush Forever Area, the highest conservation protection available in the metropolitan area,” she said.
“It is contrary to the state government’s Coastal Planning Policy 2.6 which requires local government to protect areas within their coastal hazard zone.
“The City of Stirling’s Coastal Hazard and Risk Management Plan states that no development should occur in the South Trigg Beach Class A Reserve, which is where the City is proposing this 850-metre boardwalk structure be built.”
The City of Stirling is one of Perth’s biggest local government areas, stretching from Watermans Bay down to Scarborough along the coast and inland to Mirrabooka and Inglewood.
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