Shrinking surf club fights for new access

Injured people were ferried to the roadside carpark in an inflatable boat and visitors had to make stream crossings or plod through a muddy swamp. Photo / Dean Purcell

Karekare lifesaving officials say the deepening lagoon in front of their base makes rescues difficult and is eroding membership.

The surf club guarding one of the country's most dangerous rip-torn beaches says it is losing efficiency and members, because they must wade through a waist-deep lagoon to reach their base.

In a plea to Auckland Council, Karekare Surf Life Saving Club says it has pushed for a new access way to the club for 35 years to counter a deepening stream.

The black sand beach on Auckland's west coast is a visitor drawcard, and featured in the film The Piano, but is also prized for its natural beauty and for being quieter than Piha to the north.

Club chairman Stephen Pye said a formed driveway at the northern end of the beach would go easier on the environment than vehicles making two crossings of the stream on each trip.

"In 35 years there have been over 200 meetings, workshops and public consultations between the council, club and community involving thousands of hours of club members' time," he said.

"The club has had to watch as our access and now our membership eroded by the council's continued inability to respond to an ever growing and blatantly obvious problem."

Injured people were ferried to the roadside carpark in an inflatable boat and visitors had to make stream crossings or plod through a muddy swamp.

Club operational plans changed each year as conditions worsened and it was becoming harder to maintain service levels and experienced lifeguards.

"We are a family club and a lot of members bring wives and kids to the beach on patrol," Mr Pye said. "You can't get the gear down there for a family at the beach for the day and doing a public duty and a lot of people say it's too hard and come less often or not at all."

Membership peaked at 350 in 2012 but had dropped to 219 this year, and the number of lifeguards available dropped from 125 to 70 - the lowest in 20 years.

Mr Pye said a resource consent to build a replacement for its old club house was granted 3 years ago after costing $228,000. The club had raised $2.1 million of the $2.7 million project.

The final piece of funding, about $700,000, was to have come from the council but this was withheld until the problem of access was resolved.

Mr Pye and club president Andy Shaw will speak today to the council parks, recreation and sport committee, when it considers a staff recommendation to develop a concept design for a driveway made up of a bridge, 145m of causeway and 85m of boardwalk.

Rough estimates of cost ranged from $650,000 to $1.1 million.

Waitakere Ranges Protection Society chairman John Edgar expects a meeting with council rangers this week but said it was debatable whether the club house was in the right place.

"Karekare community would like to work with the surf club to resolve the situation," Mr Edgar said. "It would be a matter of getting the best result for the beach. But in the end, the surf club do a darn good job, save lives, and we need the club at Karekare."

Artist Dean Buchanan, who has lived and painted at the beach for 20 years, expressed surprise and concern at the proposal for a permanent access.

"The beach is constantly changing - it's got a mind of its own," he said.

"There's no need for an accessway. It's only a hop, skip and a jump to the beach."

A resident, who asked not to be named, said emotions would run high in the small community over the accessway proposal.

"It's a difficult one ... The surf club do a fantastic job but the general opinion is that it is best not to have vehicles on the beach."