LDE coastal engineers on the gravel beach at Marine Parade, Napier

Coastal Engineering in Napier

Napier’s coast is unusual and demanding in equal measure. The 1931 earthquake lifted the Ahuriri shoreline and reshaped the harbour, the Marine Parade frontage is a mixed-sand-and-gravel beach that the sea constantly rearranges, and the low-lying flats around Ahuriri and the port carry real coastal-inundation and surge risk.

Hawke’s Bay has put significant work into understanding this coastline’s hazards, and engineering has to keep pace. LDE’s Napier team brings coastal and marine engineering to this setting, with seawall and revetment design, coastal erosion and hazard assessment, foreshore and port-related structures, and sea-level-rise and surge resilience for low coastal land.

For Napier and the wider Hawke’s Bay, that means coastal advice grounded in the real behaviour of a gravel coast and a low-lying, uplifted shoreline.

How our Napier team delivers coastal engineering

Napier’s mixed-sand-and-gravel beach and low, uplifted shoreline make coastal erosion and inundation the defining issues. Our Napier team assesses how the gravel coast moves under swell and storm, then designs seawalls, revetments and foreshore protection that work with that dynamic frontage. On the low flats around Ahuriri and the port we factor surge and sea-level rise into hazard assessment and the design of coastal land and structures.

It is the same coastal and marine engineering capability that supports our ports and marine work, alongside the water and flood-protection experience this low coast relies on.

Coastal erosion assessment on the Marine Parade gravel beach
Seawall and revetment design for a dynamic mixed-sediment frontage
Coastal hazard and inundation assessment around Ahuriri and the port
Storm-surge and sea-level-rise resilience for low-lying coastal land

Coastal hazards and consenting in Hawke’s Bay

Coastal work around Napier is shaped by Hawke's Bay Regional Council coastal hazard information and Napier City Council consent requirements. We align assessment and design with that framework and national coastal policy.

Ministry for the Environment coastal hazard and RMA guidance
Natural Hazards Commission Toka Tū Ake coastal erosion and inundation research
Maritime New Zealand navigation and port structures

LDE on the Hawke’s Bay coast

We bring coastal and marine engineering to the Hawke’s Bay coast, from erosion protection on the Marine Parade gravel beach to coastal hazard assessment on the low Ahuriri flats. You can see more of our regional delivery on the projects page, and read about our ports and marine capability across the country.

Common questions about coastal engineering in Hawke’s Bay

Why is the Marine Parade beach a coastal engineering challenge?

Marine Parade is a mixed-sand-and-gravel beach that the sea constantly reshapes, drawing material down the coast in storms. Protecting the frontage means working with that movement rather than assuming a stable shoreline.

What coastal hazards affect the low land around Ahuriri?

The reclaimed and low-lying flats around Ahuriri and the port are exposed to coastal inundation and storm surge, made sharper by sea-level rise. We assess that hazard and design land and structures to manage it.

Who carries out LDE’s Napier coastal work?

Chartered Professional Engineers from our team, backed by the wider LDE coastal and marine network across New Zealand.

How does sea-level rise change the picture for Napier’s coast?

A rising sea raises design water levels and increases both erosion on the gravel beach and inundation on the low flats. We use national guidance to set those levels over a structure’s life and advise on protection, crest heights and setbacks so coastal work stays fit for purpose as conditions change.