Back Beach steps debate continues

Debate on replacing the steps at a popular New Plymouth beach ticked on for well over an hour at a council committee yesterday.

Te Huinga Taumatua Committee members moved and rejected several motions before recommending the reinstatement of steps at the Paritutu end of Back Beach at a cost of $138,000.

They were removed in October after damage from ex-Cyclone Gita and a king tide, and access is only possible down a steep sand chute, from the far carpark one kilometre away, or by forging a path down the cliffs.

The matter was discussed in conjunction with funding to approve $505,000 to repair 63 park bridges in the city, with co-chair Gordon Brown suggesting the council approve $367,000 for bridges, leaving the rest to repair the steps.

Infrastructure manager David Langford said $138k was seen by people as a small sum of money and ‘‘something we should just get on with’’.

‘‘However, as we’ve seen from the parks report, there are competing demands,’’ he said.

That motion was shot down, and councillor Richard Handley moved that the matter be referred to the 2019-2020 Annual Plan deliberations in June, saying they were not yet ready to make an informed decision.

‘‘Allowing time for the planning and the review and the exploration of options we may still get the same outcome where the recommendation is to remove and not replace the steps,’’ Langford said. ‘‘Or it may not be steps, it may be alternative access.’’

Councillor Marie Pearce said the matter was simply being deferred for three months under Handley’s recommendation.

Fears were also raised that the issue may be lost among other annual plan discussions under Handley’s motion, and it was defeated.

Co-chair Liana Poutu, of Te Kotahitanga o Te A¯ tiawa Trust, moved that the steps be replaced at the cost of $138,000, subject to engagement with Nga¯ ti Te Whiti and Nga¯ Mahanga a Tairi, for whom the area has cultural significance.

‘‘There’s no guarantee that this will come through in the Annual Plan. However if we’ve got the budget now and the views of our community, we can go ahead and push it through now.’’

The recommendation was passed unanimously, although Handley had left the meeting by that time.

Brown said there was never a good time or enough money to do these sorts of projects. ‘‘In the words of somebody who became the prime minister a year ago in October, let’s do this. Let’s just do it.’’

The matter will now go to the Planning Committee next week for further recommendation before going to the full council on April 9 for a final decision.