There's great news for families with young children who traipse kilometres along the beach from Papamoa East so the kids can safely swim between the flags – there will be a patrol at Papamoa East this summer.

Papamoa Beach Surf Lifesaving Club captain Shaun Smith says the creation of the new patrol is in response to 'massive growth” over the last few years and public pressure for flags down the East.

Shaun is a great 'ear to the ground” for the club to gauge feedback from the general public.

'I live on Papamoa Beach Road, in the middle of both [Papamoa and Papamoa East]. I've been here since 1982, so I have a fair idea of what's happening.”

He says the club doesn't know where locals will swim this summer, but has begun a process where if the club puts a patrol area at Papamoa East, it will give the public a focal point to go to.

'We're not sure on the exact area yet; we're working with the local council and the local iwi to finalise the area we can patrol. It ties in with us building our new club, and we need to ensure we follow the correct processes.”

Shaun says it may be a bit of a floating patrol to start with.

'We have that massive growth in the back of Golden Sands. I had a good look down there yesterday, and there aren't a lot of parking areas for the public, so we'll have to wait and see where they go onto the beach.”

The club will also employ paid lifeguards this season, to work alongside the team of volunteers.

'The problem this year is Christmas and New Year's Day fall on Sundays, so I pushed to have some paid guards. It's a big ask of volunteers to give up their Christmas and New Year. I know they will, but if we can support them with paid guards, it's quite a good system. It works well overseas in a lot of countries.”

Shaun's in charge of finding those paid lifeguards, and his big push is to try and get as many young people involved from his own club as possible.

'It gives them an opportunity to learn a lot more skills, which they'll carry over into their volunteer patrols, plus they know the area. Ninety per cent will be locals, but we'll also have a few English guards who come from different coastal areas and want to get some more experience in a busy area.”

The new patrol area and the paid lifeguards are a pre-emptive strike against drownings.

'It means young families can come down to the beach and say, neat, there's a place down Papamoa East we can go, and feel a lot more comfortable because there are lifeguards to talk to. It's only for a couple of weeks, but it's a start.”

Shaun says the council is talking about opening up land for housing right down to the Kaituna River.

'This is the start of us thinking about the future. It's a huge patch of sand to patrol, and there may be other local patrols put on in different areas over the next 10 years once we see how busy it gets.”

Aside from the two-week full-time patrol for Papamoa East, a roaming patrol will also operate in that area from December 12 to February 3.

For more information, visit www.papamoaslsc.org.nz