Gisborne District Council tells residents wanting beach accessway they must contribute funding

The Tuahine Cres accessway to Wainui Beach has been closed for more than a year. Photo/ Leonie Sheehan.

Gisborne residents have been told to contribute their own proposal and funding if they want a Wainui Beach accessway restored before 2027.

A set of temporary stairs was in place at the Tuahine Cres beach access until March last year, when a barricade was put up.

The original steps were partially washed away in Cyclone Gabrielle and the council permanently removed the remnants soon after.

Council officials at the time said scaffolding stairs at the Tuahine Cres beach accessway had been an unconsented, short-term summer solution.

Residents were disappointed with the lack of consultation to fully remove the steps.

Council director of liveable communities Michele Frey acknowledged engagement with residents about the decision to remove the temporary steps “needed to be clearer”, and said the council was working to fix that.

More than a year on, the accessway has still not been replaced.

Resident Clare Robinson said the whole situation had been a “terrible mismanagement”.

“In our council rates, we pay parks and reserve fees, and this is my park, my reserve,” she said.

Robinson said she used to visit the beach every morning before work, when the tide was right, and go for a swim most months of the year.

Getting to the beach had become difficult since the removal of the accessway.

Residents can reach the beach via Lloyd George Park, about 300m away, although parking there is limited.

“We all live close enough and we knew we could toddle down to the beach in the morning, have our swim, or sit around and watch the sunrise, or walk along the beach,” Robinson said.

“But ... if we go all the way down, we’ve missed most of the splendour. It’s quality of life.”

Whether it was harvesting kina, visiting the lighthouse, or just enjoying the beach, Robinson said people would come from town to use the accessway.

“That’s important, too, you know, for our marine life, because if the kina aren’t harvested a lot, they overtake and it affects other species of fish and crayfish.”

An email from the council in September 2025, shared with The Gisborne Herald, read: “We have investigated temporary access options and confirmed that scaffolding stairs or similar will require a resource consent due to the coastal environment and associated overlays.

“The consenting process alone would be complex and costly (indicative costs exceed $10k excluding any required reports and construction) and would take several months, which makes [it] challenging to advance at this time.”

Robinson said: “That was after so much effort, and it’s just saying nothing”.

The council’s position has remained unchanged since then.

Council liveable spaces manager Tyler Kirk said if residents wanted to progress a solution before the next 2027-2037 long term plan, they needed to come up with the proposal and a funding contribution themselves.

“The steps were destroyed by a weather event. Any replacement would be a new structure. It would be costly, would need resource consent and cannot be funded within current budgets.”

Robinson said the news the community would have to contribute funds was “disheartening”.

“There’s no money in the kitty.”

Robinson said easy beach access was part of the reason she chose to live in that part of Wainui.

“I’m quite frankly ready to move away from Gisborne – this was my retirement.”