Local government minister Shelley Hancock is expected…

Local government minister Shelley Hancock is expected at Stockton on Monday

Local Government Minister Shelley Hancock is expected to visit Stockton today to see first-hand the suburb's coastal erosion crisis.

The Minister's highly-anticipated visit coincides with a request to from the City of Newcastle for the state government to allow it to fast-track a coastal management plan to secure the long-term future of Stockton beach.

It has also urged the government to consider lifting a ban on offshore dredging as a way to secure sand to replenish the beach.

If offshore dredging is not an option, the council estimates almost 3000 truck movements would be required to transport the quantity of sand necessary to rebuild the beach over several months.

"To replace the northern section of the beach from Stone Street to Griffith Street would require around 23,400 tonnes of sand or 2127 truck loads with work taking around four months," a City of Newcastle information sheet about the Stockton erosion reads.

"Replacing the southern section near the Holiday Park and Surf Lifesaving Club would require more than 7400 tonnes or 675 truck loads."

The council does not believe there is enough sand elsewhere on the beach to use sand scraping as a method of replenishment.

Ms Hancock gave an undertaking last week to visit Stockton. Her office was unable on Sunday to confirm the time of the visit or who she would meet with during the visit.

Environment Minister Matt Kean has also promised to visit Stockton.

The minister's visit follows a meeting last Thursday where hundreds of Stockton residents vented their frustration at the lack of action to address the erosion crisis.

A spokesman for the minister said the government was still working with stakeholders including City of Newcastle, government departments and the community to develop an effective plan for Stockton Beach.

City of Newcastle warned schools on Friday that the rapidly eroding foreshore represented a potential death trap for children during the school holidays

The council's manager of assets and projects Joanne Rigby said the sheer sand cliffs along the beach front could collapse without warning.

"This has the potential to cause loss of life if people stand too close to the top or the bottom of the sand cliffs," the letter says.

It warned the weekend's high tides and heavy swell may make the situation worse.

The council has marked a white line around a no-go zone, which is four metres back from the top of sand cliffs

The latest information sheet says City of Newcastle has invested more than $5 million to address address erosion at the beach, including recent emergency works.

"This investment has ensured the long term future of community assets including the surf life saving club, Lexie's Cafe and the beach car park," the information sheet says.

Ms Hancock announced last week that the government would extend the deadline for applications for funding under the $83 million coastal erosion fund. The extension was to allow City of Newcastle to apply for funds to address the Stockton erosion.

But City of Newcastle chief executive Jeremy Bath said the council had already applied for three lots of funding under the program, - for sandbagging, the demolition of Stockton's childcare centre and emergency work on the Mitchell Street seawall, before the deadline.

He said the erosion program did not allow for retrospective funding of projects already completed nor applications for projects starting before January 2020, but the government had encouraged him to apply nonetheless.

The NSW Coastal Alliance last week argued that funding for works to repair Stockton Beach should be taken from the $2 billion in royalties the government earns from Newcastle Harbour.

City of Newcastle announced on Friday it would reduce the entry fee to Stockton Swim Centre.

A reduced, flat rate casual entry fee of $2.80 will be on offer from Monday 30 September until Sunday 13 October 2019.

Deeper reading: Save Stockton Beach

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