Dredging of Swansea channel is expected to take place this month, pending a licence from Crown Lands and favourable weather.
Swansea MP Yasmin Catley announced on Tuesday morning that Transport for NSW had received environmental approval for the long-awaited work to take place at the end of July.
In a statement, she said the dredging would start when the Maritime Delivery Office received approval from Crown Lands to remove 30,000 cubic metres of sand from the channel over two legs of work.
The sand will be placed on Elizabeth Island and will create a 30-metre-wide channel for vessels that have a draft of up to 2.5 metres.
The second course of dredging will take place in Autumn 2024.
The state of the channel has been an ongoing concern for the boating community at Lake Macquarie, with Marine Rescue NSW and local yacht club figures calling for action over the past two years.
Read more:
- Swansea channel first in line for share in $6.2 million funding
- State reveals new Swansea channel dredging timeline a year on from funding pledge
- Swansea channel to get 10-year dredging program
- Labor commits to permanent Swansea channel dredging
Marine Rescue Lake Macquarie unit commander Jim Wright told the Newcastle Herald the emergency response organisation welcomed the news, saying he was "all for it".
"The number of vessels getting stuck [in the channel] over the last 12 to 18 months has increased," he said.
"The sooner it's dredged, the happier we'll be."
Graham Parr, commodore of Royal Motor Yacht Club Toronto, told the Herald the club had "suffered greatly" from poor fleet numbers attending its regattas at Lake Macquarie in recent years because of the condition of the channel.
"It is encouraging to hear that dredging is to begin in the near future but we, along with other Lake Macquarie yachting clubs, have heard this many times over the past several seasons," he said.
"We wait with great expectations."
The former NSW government announced plans to dredge the channel - allocating a share of $6.2 million funding earmarked for several projects - in July 2021 but a series of delays has kept the popular marine thoroughfare relatively treacherous.
Ms Catley said on Tuesday work was continuing to develop a 10-year dredging strategy for Swansea Channel.
"Since the Minns Labor government was elected, we have worked to deliver on our commitment to dredge Swansea channel," she said.
"It is a great result for the community to be able to announce that we are one step closer to the work commencing this month."
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