The rebuilding of rocky stopbanks built as flood protection for the Thames township has almost been completed.

As part of the rebuild rocks from the stopbanks were temporarily removed and a geotextile cloth, which helps reduce further erosion, was laid as a base for the now reinforced wall.

The Thames-Coromandel District Council says the rebuild of rocky stopbanks at Victoria Park in Thames has almost been completed. Photo: TCDC

The view from the shingle car park at the end of Albert Street has also been improved with the rocky stopbanks extended and now covering several concrete slabs.

In recent years the rocky protection underneath the Underfoot Gallery at the edge of the Firth of Thames had become destabilised in places.

Thames-Coromandel District Council parks contract Manager Derek Thompson says some parts of the stopbank had no further layers of rock separating the soil from the sea.

Thames-Coromandel District Council parks contract manager Derek Thompson showing the exposed soil where the last of the rocks had been eroded. Photo: TCDC

'Environmentally, this was the best time. The erosion reached as far into Thames township's protective barrier as was acceptable and we wanted to act while it was still a relatively simple solution.”

The rebuild also made economic sense, as any delay would have damaged the walkways and the stopbank, making future attempts to rearmour the stretch of coastline much more expensive.

'There will be some final touch-ups of the underfoot gallery, grass seeding in the park and planting of low coastal native plants between the footpath and the rocky stopbank,” says Derek.

The rocky stopbank continues to Albert Street in Thames. Photo: TCDC