Jane Nees BOP Regional Councillor www.janenees.co.nz

Our local beaches are about to get nourished with more sand. Last September, Tauranga City Council was granted a resource consent by the Bay of Plenty Regional Councilto use sand dredged from the harbour during the current dredging programme to replenish beaches around the city.

It allows sand to be deposited for the purpose of beach nourishment at Memorial Park, and from Fergusson Park to Kulim Park, and Maxwells Rd at the beach between the railway and Chapel St bridges. The consent requires detailed plans to be prepared before any works commence at the beaches. The Parks andRecreation team at Tauranga City Council is currently working through the planning stages for sand replenishment at Kulim Park. The work is expected to be done by the end of May with about 4000 cubic metres of sand being placed on the foreshore area.Decisions are yet to be made on replenishment in other areas but consideration of priorities will include available budget and public use.

Beach nourishment at Pilot Bay is undertaken through a different consent – and about 150 cubic metres of sand was placed there last December.

Our local beaches are well used and greatly valued by our community for their amenity. A lot of money is spent on removing sea lettuce from our beaches. It is great to see them being fed with sand to keep them attractive places to play in.

If you'd like more information on regional council or any other issue, contact me on neesj@xtra.co.nz or ring me on 07 579 5150.