Council cleaning up sandbags at Baylys Beach

UPDATE: Friday 28 April at 1.27pm.

After work started to remove damaged sandbags at Baylys Beach on Monday, it became obvious the bags were in a worse state than first thought and the decision was made to remove all remaining sandbags.

Following initial attempts earlier this week, we have paused work to give the community time to come back with their proposal for addressing further deterioration of the bags and ongoing protection of the dune. If no suitable alternative action is identified, the Council will be forced to remove the bags due to the terms of the abatement notice.

Conversations with property owners above the dune on Chases Terrace are ongoing. They are aware of Council’s position and the longer term plan for maintenance of the entrance way to the beach.

Vehicle access to the beach remains open.

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From today, Kaipara District Council contractors are cleaning up deteriorating sandbags at the Baylys Beach entrance to Ripiro Beach.

The sandbags were significantly damaged during Cyclone Gabrielle and needed to be cleaned up. After work started to remove damaged sandbags, it became obvious the bags were in a worse state than first thought and the decision was made to remove all remaining sandbags.

The stream that runs through Chases Gorge to the ocean has temporarily been re-cut while this work is underway, to prevent the bags from further washing away and so that contractors can access the sandbank.

In the final stage of the clean-up, Council contractors will realign the stream towards the southern dune at the beach entrance. This will bring additional sand back against the toe of the dune to help with stability.

The sandbags were first constructed in 2015 as a community initiative, with Council taking responsibility for the resource consent issued by Northland Regional Council.

In July 2022, Council was issued with an abatement notice. The notice required Council to tidy and remove any debris from the bags.

Since last year, Council contractors have done routine weekly maintenance of the sandbags, trimming and cleaning up debris resulting from the deteriorating bags.