Whanganui’s Kai Iwi Beach flying fox replacement set to cost $180,000

The flying fox at Kai Iwi beach was removed in October 2022. Photo / Bevan Conley

The flying fox at Kai Iwi Beach won’t be gone forever.

It was taken down in October last year due to structural integrity issues.

Whanganui District Council property and open spaces general manager Sarah O’Hagan said a full replacement was required, and according to the council’s Annual Plan, that would cost $180,000.

“We didn’t have any provision in our budget for a full replacement, we had a small sum of money for upgrades,” she said.

“Some funds have been put in the Annual Plan that is out for consultation right now.

“That’s the next financial year. When we get that budget, we will take concepts and prices to the community and work with them on the replacement.”

“We only had a couple of thousand to do some maintenance. That’s why it’s been wrapped into the Annual Plan process,” O’Hagan said.

The engineer’s report that led to the flying fox’s removal found its backstay wire was broken, and the weight of the wire was pulling on the wooden platform at the top.

O’Hagan said there were some half-truths in the community early on, with people thinking the flying fox was closed for good.

“What we were saying was, it was a significant amount of money we didn’t have provisioned.

“I think we’ve dealt with that now, but it was certainly bubbling away.”

Kai Iwi residents Sharron and Colin Caseley created a petition shortly after the flying fox was taken down, looking for support to have it reinstated.

It eventually received 605 signatures, with 90 per cent of them coming from outside of Kai Iwi.