Yorkes mayor says region faces impossible choice as jetties crumble and repair bill explodes

Crumbling jetties have left a regional council with an impossible choice - pick winners or take another option which could make the problem even worse.

A decision between spending millions on repairing the deteriorating Edithburgh and Ardrossan jetties or spreading the available money around the region’s other coastal structures is being faced by the Yorke Peninsula Council.

Yorke Peninsula mayor Darren Braund said the council would have to make a decision as it did not have enough money to fix up all 12 jetties that fell under its jurisdiction.

“That is the discussions that are coming,’’ Mr Braund said. “So do we just look at the two worst jetties that need work? Or do we spread the love around? And in the end, that will be a council decision.’’

The Sunday Mail is running a Save Our Jetties campaign in an effort to throw the spotlight on the plight of our jetties.

Last month, the state government announced it would spend $10 million on jetties around the state that it owned but were leased by various councils. Of that, it earmarked $3.5 million for Yorke Peninsula jetties and another $197,000 for the fisherman’s jetty at Port Vincent.

YP mayor Darren Braund, YP councillor Mick O'Connel, Edithburgh progress association chairman Stan Szczypiorski walking past a fenced off section of jetty. Picture: Brett Hartwig

Mr Braund said discussions with the state government were positive and ongoing but that it wouldn’t be enough to carry out all necessary repairs. He said the jetties at Edithburgh and Ardrossan were the ones most in need of repair.

“And then there’s other ones that need work after that,’’ he said.

It is estimated the jetty at Edithburgh will cost $16 million to completely renovate, while its counterpart at Ardrossan will need work worth $20 million eventually.

“Obviously, we’re thankful for any investment, but we’re also very aware that it needs to a sustainable program for our council,’’ Mr Braund said.

The Yorke Peninsula council spends around $250,000 a year maintaining all its jetties.

Both are leased to the Yorke Peninsula council until 2050, but Mr Braund said there was an “early release’’ clause that could be activated in June 2025 “if the jetties have deteriorated faster than expected’’.

However, Mr Braund said there was consideration being given to handing the jetties back to the state government, but that could also cause other problems.

“If we give them back we don’t just want the state government to just chop them off and let them go into the sea,’’ he said.

The 147m long Edithburgh jetty already has a wire cage installed about three quarters of the way down to keep users away from an edge with a rotting pylon.

Edithburgh Progress Association chair Stan Szczypiorski said jetty was one of the top diving sites in the state and underwater it was easy to see the jetty’s rotting pylons and cross members.

“It’s scary when you go for a dive down and you can actually see the pylons moving in the tide,’’ he said.

The jetty has already lost one set of its two sets of stairs used by divers because they had become unsafe.

The council is now hoping for a $750,000 federal government grant to replace the missing stairs.