The proposal relies on the construction of a rock armoured seawall, 2900m2 in area, between 96-125m long, up to 22m wide and up to 5m high which will all but destroy the western end of Smiths Beach.The construction and impact of the seawall was not disclosed in the original application, and the majority of the proponents ERD documents have not given any consideration to its impact. It was effectively hidden from the public during the entire planning stages through the ‘fast track’ planning system in WA known and the State Development Assessment Unit.

The full impacts of the seawall are not known as no detailed design, long term modelling of the resulting beach profile or erosion studies have been undertaken. The result of the seawall will be:

• The total loss of recreation function / use of the beach by the public at the western end of the beach, the highest use active beach area and the most family friendly part of Smiths Beach

• To permanently change the way the coastal forces in the area operate and is predicted to increase the beach erosion in the immediate neighbouring dune area.

• Serious negative visual landscape impacts of the seawall as it will be seen from the beach, from the water, from the cape to cape track, torpedo rocks and many other significant public viewing points. The significant of these visual impacts on the landscape quality and landform character have not been assessed by the EPA.

• The seawall is a departure from the 2009 EPA assessment and the requirement for a seawall and these significant impacts could be simply avoided by the development being setback from the beach consistent with State Policy.