Blacksmiths Dune Management Plan

The Lake Macquaire Coastal Management Program, adopted in 2023, includes an action to develop and implement dune management plans for priority areas (Blacksmiths, Redhead, Nine Mile, Caves Beach and Catherine Hill Bay). 

The draft plan recommends management actions across three separable portions along Blacksmiths Beach. A snapshot of these actions by area is provided on this webpage and on pages 23-26 of the draft plan. 

Between Awabakal Avenue and the breakwall, there are 22 access tracks through the dunes to Blacksmiths Beach, which have been identified as part of our draft Blacksmiths Dune Management Plan.

Three are recommended to be closed, while the draft recommends actions to improve the others. The access tracks recommended to be closed are:

• Track 1 at Awabakal Avenue
• Track 4 at 27-29 Ungala Road 
• Track 12 at Kolang Street.

Track 1 currently provides recreational 4WD beach access, which causes disturbance to the dunes. Other vehicle access points are available to the north at Ocean Park Road, Belmont South, and Kalaroo Road, Belmont. The draft plan does not recommend immediate closure of this track and further community consultation will likely be required to determine whether the track can be closed. Community feedback collected through this process will also inform this decision. 

Tracks 4 and 12 are informal tracks with poor accessibility, and the draft plan recommends these be closed off. 

Track 4 is close to Track 3 at Mallawa Street and Track 5 at Amaroo Street and both are less than 80m from Track 4. 

Track 12 is close to Track 11 at Tirril Street and Track 13, which is off the Crown reserve. 

The Lake Macquarie Coastal Management Program, adopted in 2023, includes an action to utilise dredged sand for nourishment at priority locations and in accordance with dune management plans and foreshore areas along the channel. 

Council is working with the Commonwealth and NSW governments to progress the design and installation of pipeline and pumping infrastructure to enable dredge sand to be pumped to Nine Mile Beach. Further details will be available in the coming months once the arrangements with Commonwealth and NSW governments are finalised.

View the draft Blacksmiths Dune Management Plan online and make a submission before Sunday 15 June 2025.

You can make a submission by:

• providing written feedback via the online submission form on this webpage.
• emailing [email protected] with the subject heading ‘Blacksmiths Dune Management Plan’
• writing to Lake Macquarie City Council Attn Environmental Planning and Climate Change Resilience, Box 1906, Hunter Regional Mail Centre, NSW, 2310.

Hard copies of the draft plan are also available to view at Lake Mac Libraries’ Swansea and Belmont branches.

Your submission can be as concise or as long as you wish. Ideally, you will express your level of support for the proposal and provide detailed and specific feedback. 

Should multiple submissions be received from a single resident regarding this project, the feedback will be reviewed by staff and counted as one submission.

Council may reproduce submissions in Council reports or in Court proceedings.