Stuart & Ramsay Streets Collaroy Beach: Access & Coastal Protection

Project update: September 2025

Construction is progressing well on-site, with completion at Ramsay Street expected by month’s end. However, ongoing wet weather and recent storms have delayed works at Stuart Street. We’ll keep you updated as we near the final stages of the project.

Project overview

We're installing beach access steps and rock revetments at Ramsay and Stuart Streets' road ends in Collaroy, to improve safety and keep beach access open for all.

We invited you to review the concept designs for the proposed works, along with the associated draft Review of Environmental Factors (REF), for a period of 28 days in November 2024. We received 30 submissions, which reflected strong community support for the proposal, and no concerns regarding the content of the Draft REF were raised. The REF has since been approved. Please refer to the Community Engagement Report for details on the engagement outcomes.

What's happening?

The existing rock seawalls at Ramsay and Stuart Streets will be removed and replaced with newly designed structural rock seawalls that will better protect the area from erosion. As part of these improvements, new stairs with handrails will be installed on each seawall to make it easier for everyone to access the beach, and we will rebuild the existing stormwater drain at Ramsay Street, Collaroy.

Construction is programmed to take 6 months to complete, weather permitting. Our construction team will be on site from 7am to 5pm weekdays. Frazer Reserve will be closed and will be the works storage compound throughout the project. During construction, parts of the beach will be temporarily closed and fenced off while our machinery and trucks are working. While we know this may cause some inconvenience with noise, dust, and reduced space, we will do our best to keep disruption to a minimum.

Nearby works complete

We have installed two new sets of stairs with handrails along the carpark, located adjacent to the junction of Pittwater Road and Fielding Street, Collaroy over the existing rock seawall to enhance beach access.

Read the Community Engagement Report

Ramsay Street - public road end

Rock revement at beach, people walking on sand — Artist impressions of proposed works. Note that Basalt rock has now been selected as shown in this artist impression.

Stuart Street - public road end

Overview of the Environmental Assessment

In accordance with Part 5 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 (EP&A Act), a Draft REF was prepared by independent consultants for the proposed works.

The REF examines any potential environmental, social, economic, and cumulative impacts of the works and the ways we will mitigate these impacts, including during construction. The REF is an important document to ensure we are considering and protecting our valued beach environment.

The REF has now been approved and can be downloaded from the Document library section of this project page.

The REF considers the potential impacts of the proposed works including influence on any physical and chemical, biological, community, natural resource, cultural heritage and matters of national environmental significance.

Key findings of the REF include:

there will be negligible effects to coastal processes both in the near shore and offshore
no environmental harm to fauna and flora species will occur in the vicinity of the works
no Aboriginal or European heritage is expected to be unearthed or impacted during construction
cumulative impacts are considered to be negligible, and,
there is potential for short term environmental impacts during construction and actions are identified to mitigate this risk.

The REF concludes that the proposed works would not result in significant environmental impacts using the proposed mitigation measures (see management and mitigation tab for more information).

To minimise any potential impacts from the proposed coastal protection works, a number of mitigation and management safeguards are incorporated into the REF.

The REF lists required actions to mitigate environmental impacts during construction. These actions will be included in a site-specific Construction Environmental Management Plan (CEMP) prepared by the construction Contractor. The Contractor will implement the CEMP during construction to mitigate the risk of environmental impacts.