Lancelin locals trigger alarm on coastal erosion as coastline washes away and wild weather predicted

7NEWS

2 days ago

A popular Aussie fishing and tourist town has pleaded for help as an aggressive ocean washes away their tiny coastal home before their eyes.
The erosion crisis in Lancelin, 125km north of Perth, has worsened since 7NEWS visited just over two months ago and cast a major cloud over the future of the getaway known for its white sand and relaxed seaside lifestyle.
Locals say more than 10m of land has vanished since May and they seriously fear for their homes and businesses.
Anxiously watching the shoreline inch towards his pub, Lancelin Sands Hotel owner of three years Glen Trebilcock has pleaded for emergency funding and specialist technical assistance from the state government in a petition supported by 800 signatures.
'Without immediate intervention, the safety of the foreshore and the integrity of essential coastal infrastructure remain at serious risk,' he said.
'We strongly believe that a retreat is not a viable solution.'
The local shire has also written to WA Deputy Premier Rita Saffioti for help but says they are yet to hear back.
'We're not asking for millions of dollars at the moment, we're just asking for a little bit of financial assistance,' Gingin Shire President Linda Balcombe told 7NEWS.
'We're a very small shire with only about 6000 ratepayers and we've got a big coastline that we have to protect.
'If we're protecting private businesses and private houses we also need to come up with a model that everybody's putting something into this — shire, landowners and the state, and even federal government. It's an Australia-wide problem.'
Balcombe said more than 25 metres of coastline had been eaten up in some of the worst-hit places in the last year.
'Of course (the locals) are nervous. They live here, there's a lot of value in their properties (and) angst if they're going to get inundated,' Balcombe told 7NEWS.
'I don't blame them.'
Thousands of tourists are drawn to Lancelin's white sand and picturesque water every year, but Trebilcock said the erosion issue that threatens to swallow up their slice of paradise is having an impact on visitor numbers.
'Six tour companies that used to come through every day, they've all disappeared. They bypass and they just go directly up to Jurien (Bay),' he told 7NEWS.
A lookout that has sat by his hotel for decades and is a sought-after stop with international selfie-hunters will be torn down next week due to safety concerns.
Former WA opposition leader Shane Love said he had raised a grievance in parliament and followed up again in budget estimates.
'I've said this a number of times in parliament already, the state government need emergency funds and the ability to respond urgently,' he said.
The WA Government told 7NEWS it is 'aware of the issues and is actively looking at options to assist'.
A weekend cold front set to smash the coast and threatens to eat further into the remaining waterfront.
'The seas will really pick up. We're expecting quite high swells ... well up over five metres behind the system as well,' Bureau of Meteorology WA manager James Ashley said.
Some experts fear there is little that can be done at this point.
'In the case of Lancelin, it's built in the wrong place. It's built in an eroding coastline,' UWA coastal oceanography professor Charitha Pattiaratchi told 7NEWS in May.
'It's probably controversial — [but the best thing to do would be] retreat, do nothing.'