STOCKTON'S fragile coastline is expected to receive a further battering in coming days as high tides and heavy swells worsen erosion along the fragile strip.
Wild weather is forecast to continue through the week as the swell moves in from the north and all beaches in Newcastle, besides Bar Beach, remain closed.
On Tuesday, large waves were crashing across Mitchell Street and eating away at a protection berm in front of the caravan park at the southern end of the beach.
Bureau of Meteorology's Shuang Wang said the hazardous conditions would continue through Wednesday.
"Tuesday saw swell above four metres and this is expected to remain around four metres overnight with easing conditions on Wednesday when the swell will drop to three metres," he said.
"Showers and storms are forecast for Wednesday and this will continue for the next seven days."
Stockton surf club life member and retired lifeguard Noel Burns said the beach was "copping it" on Tuesday morning.
Mr Burns said locals were questioning if Byron Bay, that suffered severe erosion at the town's main beach this week, would be fixed before Stockton, where residents have been campaigning for a solution for decades.
"The swell is coming straight in from the north with the big tide and it's belting up against the berm, eating away at it again," Mr Burns said.
"It's hard to tell yet exactly what damage has been done. The southern end of the beach has been holding pretty well with sand over the past few months, we're hoping this doesn't completely destroy that."
A City of Newcastle spokeswoman said on Tuesday that the council would assess coastal erosion and address any repairs once the weather conditions ease.
She urged all community members to follow safety warnings and beach and road closures during the extreme weather conditions.
"City of Newcastle is monitoring its coastal facilities and assets along the Newcastle coastline including Stockton during the current weather event," she said.
"The Australian Bureau of Meteorology has issued a warning for large and powerful surf conditions which are hazardous for coastal activities such as rock fishing, swimming and surfing for the remainder of today and tomorrow."
Investigations continue into the possibility of relocating 300,000 cubic metres of high-quality river sand from Newcastle harbour to Stockton beach.
The uncontaminated sand, initially located as part of investigation works for the proposed T4 coal loader project that was scrapped in 2018, is described in a Hunter and Central Coast Development Corporation (HCCDC) report as "readily available" and "a virgin undisturbed deposit".
Further erosion comes just months after City of Newcastle's coastal management program for the area was approved.
An application for an offshore exploration licence to locate sand suitable for the replenishment of Stockton beach is expected to be approved early in the new year.
The Department of Regional NSW applied for the offshore exploration licence on behalf of the state government.
If granted, it will allow exploration work to be carried out and determine if an identified source of sand off the coast of Stockton is suitable.
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