As waves surge, tiny Canterbury community raises $200,000 for seawall

A tiny Canterbury settlement has found more than $200,000 to pay for a seawall along its coast, in a stark example of the challenges facing many small communities with the changing climate.

The popular holiday location of Gore Bay, around 80km north of Christchurch, has around 10 permanent residents.

It’s loved for its big surf waves, but that swell – the very thing that attracts people to live and holiday there – is now threatening its future.

Over the last few years, it’s faced significant erosion at a popular summer campground, known as the Buxton.

In response, locals have banded together for an audacious fix that could provide a model for other communities to follow.

They’ve spent more than two years working on a consent for a rock bag seawall, alongside the Hurunui District Council and Environment Canterbury.

One of those involved is Geoff Maxwell – sometimes jokingly referred to as the "Mayor of Gore Bay" – who heads up the residents’ association and a foreshore trust.

“It's kind of a 'stitch in time saves nine',” he said, of the proposed solution.

“If we don't do something now then the erosion is going to continue to occur and then it puts the whole of the Gore Bay settlement at risk.”

The project has been granted consent to proceed in August. It involves stacking large bags full of rocks, weighing about a tonne each, on top of each other.

They would be filled with shingle and rock material from the foreshore of the beach and stacked around five high.

The plan is appreciated by the leaseholder of the local Gore Bay Buxton Campground, Catherine Maxwell – and Geoff’s sister.

“We really love this camp,” she said. “In the summer there's hundreds of people that stay here and it would be really sad for everyone if we didn't, [if] we weren't able to continue it. We're very grateful that we've got a solution."

The project has been partially funded by the two councils – Hurunui District and Environment Canterbury – who both contributed.

However, a large amount of the cost will be covered by a community trust, headed up by Geoff Maxwell.

It has a nest egg of funding, collected through a targeted rate over time.

“The funds were contributed to the trust by a targeted rate predating 2003, so it's a long time ago,” he said.

“Basically the funds [have been] able to accrue over time, with interest that we've received.”

However the project has taken more than two years to complete, much to the frustration of one local leader.

Hurunui District councillor Vincent Daly has been involved in the project from the start and believes planning rules are too difficult for small communities.

“You're really not allowed to do anything,” he said. “We've got to go all through these steps so it's just gone backwards and forwards like playing a ping pong, it was just on and on and on, and I like to get things done.”

Daly said he didn’t want to “wreck the environment” but felt decision-makers in Parliament should be more aware of the effects of their policy statements.

He said the erosion at Gore Bay had worsened over time, while the community waited for approval to build the seawall.

“You're not allowed to touch anything, so you've got to stand there and watch it happen,” he said.

“It's just about a crime.”

Climate scientisits say many coastal communities will need to have similar conversations in the coming years.

"We're committed to at least 30cm of sea level rise by the end of the century so that's something we absolutely have to grapple with," said Earth Sciences NZ atmosphere and climate general manager Richard Levy.

"It may be more than that but we know we have to deal with that so it is a challenge, it is a problem. We have to address it."

Levy said there was a range of options for adaption, including raising infrastructure, re-establishing wetlands, or shifting the settlement.

Any climate adaption was a "real challenge" for smaller communities due to the resources involved, he added.

"That all takes money, that all takes engineering, that all takes planning. You can't really do too much if you don't have the resource.

"We've got to do it. We've got to adapt. We can't kick the sea level rise issue down the road anymore."

Meanwhile, district councillor Daly believed it could have been done a lot cheaper with earlier intervention.

“You've got to remember, this is a small community. It'd be like in Auckland finding $40 or $50 million for the number of people we're talking about,” he said.

“So it's very difficult, you wonder how many communities could afford to do this.”