$1.45m to fix West Beach rock wall that fell more than year but who will pay?

A ROCK wall that crumbled more than a year ago preventing access to a popular beach walkway could finally be fixed — but it won’t be cheap and there remains argy-bargy over who’ll pay for it.

Stairway leading to the sand at West Beach, near Chetwynd St, has been closed off since it was damaged in July, 2014. Picture: Thomas Conlin.

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CHARLES Sturt ratepayers could be left footing a $1.45 million bill to replace a rock wall needed to stop erosion undermining the West Beach Surf Life Saving Club and Seaview Rd.

The council’s Asset Management Committee voted on Monday night to apply for $1.16 million in State Government grants for the project after being told it was responsible for the work.

The wall was damaged by storms in 2014, leaving the surf club, coast path and Seaview Rd at risk from erosion.

Committee chair Tolley Wasylenko said legal advice indicated the council, not the State Government, was “technically responsible” for the entire cost.

“What I’m worried about is that we’re backed into a corner because otherwise we’re going to end up losing our road,” Cr Wasylenko said.

“The mere fact that we have to apply for something doesn’t guarantee us anything, whereas I understood that they (the State Government) would take the 80 (per cent) and we would pay 20.

“I’m not sure what’s going to happen if (the) council says we haven’t got the money or otherwise we’ve got ourselves a seven or eight per cent rate rise coming up.

“I’m confident we’ll get something, but this council has got to hold firm.”

Mayor Angela Evans wrote to State Environment Minister Ian Hunter in March last year following a report on the damage, seeking confirmation on who was responsible for the wall.

The environment department responded in December to say the council was responsible for maintenance and partial replacement within the Charles Sturt boundary.

An engineering report found that when the wall was constructed in 1973 no reinforcing fabric was used behind the rocks to protect the underlying soil.

The current erosion would require the rocks to be removed to allow installation of the fabric before replacing the rocks.

Henley ward councillor Robert Randall said no work should be done until the future location of West Beach Surf Life Saving Club, which is due for reconstruction, is known.

“If the life saving club was successfully relocated, you wouldn’t spend the money on the rock wall, you would return it to the beach and let the south-north natural sand drift take place,” Cr Randall said.

He said additional sand, which is currently blocked by the shape of the rock wall, would bolster the protection.

Cr Randall said the club should relocate closer to the Henley Sailing Club, at the top of Burbridge Rd at West Beach, rather than building a new club in the current location.

West Beach Surf Life Saving Club president Peter Zuill said the club had met with the Coastal Protection Board about the site.

“From our point of view, we are still progressing basic designs for the current site to help start the process,” Mr Zuill said.

“Initial designs and building proposals have progressed well.”

The council expects to apply for funding through the Coastal Protection Board next month, but will first commission a report into the required work.

The report, which is expected to cost up to $20,000, would indicate whether it was possible to stage the work over several years beginning with the most urgent sections.

Council staff told the committee the area in greatest need was near a stairway at the end of Chetwynd St, which was closed following storm damage in 2014.