A petition calling on Central Coast Council to urgently fund and rebuild a set of stairs it removed from Blue Lagoon Reserve is now being circulated in the Bateau Bay area.
Organised by the Save our Stairs community group, the petition outlines the community’s dismay that Council removed the stairs to the reserve, located between Blue Lagoon Beach Resort and Shelly Beach, without any public consultation.
Council has confirmed it removed the stairs, which gave users access from the top of the reserve via Bateau Bay Rd, in early September after an inspection revealed the timber stairs to be unsafe and beyond repair.
Save Our Stairs co-ordinator Judy Townsend said it was widely believed the stairs were built more than 40 years ago and while they had fallen into disrepair and had been vandalised several times, they were still widely used by the community for social gatherings including weddings and birthdays.
The only access to the reserve now is by going through the resort, onto the beach, along the beach and up a set of stairs which are also in a state of disrepair.
Townsend said she understood an agreement between the resort and Crown Lands regarding the maintenance of the stairs was now invalid and Council was responsible for the maintenance of the stairs.
She said the group was also outraged to learn that Council’s public notice of the demolition of the stairs was posted on social media on Friday, August 31 and the stairs removed one business day later on Monday, September 4.
Townsend said the petition had overwhelming support from the community.
“We have had unbelievable support,” she said.
“Whatever the reason Council took the stairs away, it was not done in the correct way.”
The petition states: “We the undersigned petitioners wish to bring to the attention of Central Coast Council our dismay that Council has without any public consultation process, removed the stairs that provide direct access to Blue Lagoon reserve.
“Council’s reasons that the stairs have not been used for a number of years is false and its reference to alternate access via Blue Lagoon Beach Resort is inadequate.
“The petitioners therefore ask Central Coast Council to urgently fund and rebuild the stairs and give Blue Lagoon Reserve back to our community”.
Townsend said the aim was to collect more than 1,000 signatures which would enable the group to call a public meeting and invite Council to attend.
A Council spokesperson said Council would consider the “merits of building a new stairway” in the future which would include community consultation, but the project was not currently listed in Council’s three-year delivery program.
Denice Barnes