Staircase repair is too costly
A staircase to New Plymouth’s most picturesque beach will not be replaced because it would cost at least $150,000.
The wooden set of stairs leading to the Sugar Loaf Islands at Back Beach was cordoned off with tape in February after being damaged by the tide and ex-Cyclone Gita.
The bottom portion of the staircase was then removed by the New Plymouth District Council and a $7000 viewing platform built, blocking beach access.
The only way to reach the area now is down a large sand dune, which can get extremely hot in summer, or from the southern end of Back Beach – about one kilometre away.
Two people have complained to the NPDC and dog walkers at the weekend said they would like the steps replaced.
Moran Stark and Alicia Clarey, who were out with dog Mia, said a lot of people liked to walk the complete loop, using access from both ends of the beach. ‘‘A lot of people we’ve talked to say it would be good if they put that back,’’ Stark said.
Helen Hall, who was out with pet Dougal, said she didn’t use the steps but a lot of people did.
‘‘We have lots of tourists come down here. It’s really good access to the beach from that end.’’
NPDC infrastructure manager David Langford said in a statement the tides caused the dunes and hill face to move last summer. ‘‘We looked into repairing them, but this was not possible due to the continuing dune erosion,’’ he said.
‘‘We won’t be replacing the steps.’’
Replacing them would cost $150,000 or more, according to an engineer, Langford said, and there was no guarantee they would withstand the conditions.
When asked about people now having to run down the hot sand dune, Langford said council expected people to use caution.
‘‘There are other options including using alternative access to the beach from the Back Beach lower car park.’’