Insight for Sunday 2 May 2010

The economic recovery is tipped to renew rampant development of New Zealand's coast.

Few areas of the coastline are protected and in many regions council policy appears to be at odds with the concerns of locals.

New Chums Beach in Coromandel (pictured below) is just one example. Here a developer wants to build more than a dozen houses amid outrage from those who don't want any kind of building to spoil the pristine beach.

In other areas large sub-divisions are threatening to dominate traditional bach settlements, while apartment blocks are also becoming a feature.

In this programme Sue Ingram visits Coromandel and asks what regulations are in place to restrain coastal development and should they be tightened up?

See images of coastal development in the Coromandel.