Funding to tackle coastal hazard risk at Windy Harbour

A plan to manage coastal hazard risk at Windy Harbour has been given the green light after a funding boost from the State Government. Manjimup Shire received $50,000 from the Government’s Coastal Management Plan Assistance Program to prepare its Windy Harbour coastal hazard risk management adaption plan, which will create a framework for the harbour for the next 25 years. Manjimup Shire will also be contributing $50,000 from its Windy Harbour Infrastructure Reserve as a co-contribution to the project. Shire president Paul Omodei said a steering committee would soon be established to facilitate community and stakeholder consultation. “Windy Harbour has been identified as a coastal erosion hotspot by the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage,” he said. “The area is under pressure from challenges including the impacts of climate change, coastal hazards such as erosion and inundation, population growth and competing land uses. “Consultation with the community and Windy Harbour stakeholders is an important part of the process and a steering committee will be formed to facilitate community involvement.” Windy Harbour is a holiday settlement just 27km south of Northcliffe on the south coast of the State. The harbour is surrounded by the D’Entrecasteaux National Park, with roughly 230 cottages developed in the area since the early 1900s. The $4million program will also fund 53 other projects, which includes $1.77m for work to address severe erosion at Thomson Bay South on Rottnest Island.