"It is not just for our community, it is for all the people that come down here just for an afternoon, whether they’ve come to see the albatross or penguins, but they will be able to have a lovely picnic on the reserve as well ... it will be for the whole of Dunedin, really."
Te Rauone Beach is a popular recreation area, but one under threat from coastal erosion.
Last week, the appeal window for the granting of resource consent to restore the beach ended, so the Te Rauone Beach Coast Care Committee invited the local community to celebrate the news.
About 120 people accepted invitations to Saturday’s event, committee member Mr Smith said.
The campaign to restore the beach had taken a decade or more to get to this point, but the community was delighted resource consent for the work had finally been approved, Mr Smith said.
"It’s a long-standing issue, but it’s been 10 years since our committee was formed that we have got this across the line.
"It’s a major milestone for us to get the consent through and Port Otago have done a massive amount of work in the background to draw up the documents and to get this through."
Port Otago will build three rock groynes at Te Rauone Beach and sand will be deposited at the northern end to restore about 300m of coastline.
The Dunedin City Council will also create a new car park and upgrade the playground at Te Rauone Beach Reserve.
"There will be some challenges ahead ... but this is a massive hurdle we’ve just climbed over and now it’s full steam ahead," Mr Smith said.
