Council’s pier pressure
Questions asked after long delays on key Bellerive structure
CONSTRUCTION flaws have led to a major blowout for the Bellerive Public Pier, which was supposed to be finished more than a year ago.
Clarence City Council’s $2.8m project was due to be completed in September, but is still fenced off to the public because of a “non-conformance” issue.
Mayor Doug Chipman said he was not at liberty to talk publicly about what the “nonconformance” was, since the council was in ongoing talks with the contractors.
He said at this stage the council did not know how long the pier project would be delayed, nor how much overbudget they could expect to go while fixing the problem.
“Council is continuing to work through the completion process for the pier with the contractor, just as you would do a final house inspection before getting a certificate of occupancy,” Councillor Chipman said.
“We’re as disappointed with the delays in opening the structure as our community, but this is a significant asset for Clarence, designed to last
50 years, so it’s important that we get it right.
“We are looking forward to opening the pier as soon as we possibly can.”
Bellerive resident Joanne Marsh has spent months demanding a concrete explanation from council, but says she has only received the vaguest of non-answers.
“I’ve been on their tail for 12 years over a range of things. They only give very vague answers and can be quite rude when they feel threatened,” Mrs Marsh said.
Her husband Victor Marsh has put several motions to
council demanding answers, and says he will continue to do so until the community knows what caused this “fair dinkum shambles”.
“In the end they’re going to have to tell the truth, because this has blown out big time,” Mr Marsh said.
“They won’t even say how much it’s blown out. It’s beyond a joke.”
The Marshes asked councillor Richard James to put questions to council staff, but Cr James said that not even he was privy to that information.
Cr James said the council had an imperative to come
clean and let the public know what caused the public pier project blowout and how much ratepayers could expect to pay.
“It’s very difficult when people come up to me and say, ‘Surely you know why it’s taking so long,’ but I don’t even know what the circumstances are,’’ he said.
Once completed, the pier will feature a 2.5-metre-wide walkway with seating and lighting, as well as wheelchair and pram access.
The Mercury reached out to the contractor involved in the pier project, but the contractor declined to comment.