Maintain the rage - new drone video shows Stockton…

Maintain the rage - new drone video shows Stockton under siege

The tide dropped low enough on Wednesday afternoon for Stockton's lifeguards to temporarily raise the flags for the first time this season.

Skinny: A very low tide allowed lifeguards to temporarily open Stockton Beach on Wednesday afternoon. A predicted large swell is expected to further threaten the beach in coming days. Picture: Max Mason-Hubers

The four metre sliver of beach that could only be accessed via a pathway next to Lexie's Cafe provided a few hours of respite for locals who have been deprived of their beach in recent months.

But the favourable conditions are not expected to last.

Forecast heavy swells in coming days are expected to put the severely eroded beachfront under renewed pressure.

Ten days has past since Local Government Minister Shelley Hancock fast tracked $250,000 worth of funding to assist City of Newcastle manage the erosion crisis.

Work to date has included the demolition of the suburb's childcare centre last Friday and shoring-up heavily eroded key points along the foreshore.

There was also an agreement between the minister, the council and locals that sand would be trucked in to top-up the beach.

The emergency measure would at least allow the surf club's nippers program to get underway.

A City of Newcastle spokesman said on Tuesday that options for short-term sand nourishment were still under investigation.

Prominent local Lucas Gresham said the community was becoming frustrated that no action had been taken to replenish the beach more than a week after the minister's visit.

Local Government minister Shelley Hancock in Stockton last Monday evening.

He suggested several locations, including Swansea Channel and a Honeysuckle development site where several thousand cubic metres of high quality sand had been extracted from recently, as possible sources of sand that could be used to rebuild the beach.

"I really can't see any justification for not putting some sand back on the beach," he said.

Mr Gresham recently used a drone to dramatically highlight the extent of the erosion along the suburb's foreshore.

In addition to going viral on social media, the 60 second video was also the catalyst for the #savestockton community campaign.

"People always hear about erosion but until they see it up-close it's had to appreciate it," Mr Gresham said.

He released a new video on Wednesday afternoon that shows the demolition of the childcare centre and more severe erosion.

It ends with a ship entering Newcastle harbour.

"As long as the boats keep coming in so will the money. But none of that money is being used to repair the destruction that the breakwall has caused in Stockton," Mr Gresham said.

"This was entirely foreseeable but the council and state government have sat back and watched the disaster unfold."

Deeper reading: Save Stockton Beach

Stockton under siege

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