REFUSING to bow to what Wanganui's mayor dubbed "minority greenies and bureaucrats", Wanganui District councillors have given unanimous support to have Castlecliff Beach be developed for recreational use.
Council currently has resource consent from Horizons Regional Council to move 5000 cubic metres of sand on the beach.
But a rider to that consent demands council investigate alternatives to the current methods of sand removal and have that report finalised by May 1 this year.
At yesterday's meeting Mr Laws said the beach needed to be "clear and inviting for families".
"Are we going to make it a prime, free recreational resource for Wanganui people, or are we going to let it revert to nature?
"Nature can have the coastline but we're only asking for a 150-200m strip," he said.
After the meeting Mr Laws said the decision made by council means that it is not prepared to let the beach revert to nature.
"I think it's a decision that's been a long time in coming and should never have had to have been made in the first place."
"Senior management in the previous council had applied for resource consents without the knowledge of the council. All these problems stem from actions of a senior manager exceeding his brief," Mr Laws said.
As a consequence the council never there was an issue until they were told 'We've now got resource consent'. Council quite rightly asked 'When did we need to apply for that and why weren't we informed?'," Mr Laws said.
Cr Randhir Dahya called the situation "ridiculous".
"We can repair storm damage with consents but come to our own beach and we can't touch it," Cr Dahya said.
A council workshop involving councillors and key groups had been set for April 2, followed by a special meeting of the community development committee. That workshop was to have discussed whether the beach should be recreational for sunbathing and swimming or whether it should be a natural coastline.
The workshop will go ahead but with a clear direction from council that the recreational option is the one it wants.
Council votes to groom beach
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