A group of Wickham residents are calling for action after Newcastle council placed a temporary safety fence on a crumbling sea wall more than six months ago but not completed any repairs.
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The fencing was installed along the western side of Throsby Creek, next to one of the city's most popular pathways used by cyclists, pedestrians and the weekly Newcastle Parkrun.
The sea wall has been gradually crumbling over the years, with large rocks falling into the water.
Council said the wall was constructed by private developers almost 30 years ago, and is subsiding due to the initial construction methodology, which had led them to install temporary fencing "for public safety".
Residents say this happened around April or May. But despite them contacting council on numerous occasions for updates, and being told in August repairs would happen "imminently", the work hasn't taken place.
City of Newcastle (CN) said it was planning maintenance work to reconstruct the failed part of the seawall, "which will provide a short-term solution and allow the temporary fencing to be removed".
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"Maintenance work on the seawall is expected to take place early next year," a council spokesperson said.
But residents aren't holding their breath that will indeed occur.
"They keep giving us times, but then it doesn't happen," Pete Smith said.
"I can understand them putting a fence up if they were going to do something, but we're still waiting," Wayne Daly said.
The fencing has been replaced several times. Residents say some people have been climbing over or under it to access the water.
"CN is monitoring the site and has needed to repair the fencing on a number of occasions due to damage from weather events and frustratingly, damage caused by members of the public," the council spokesperson said.
The residents have safety concerns about the fence following an incident last year. The nearby yacht club was teaching kids to sail, when a child was blown against the rocks. A few neighbours rushed out to help, which they say wouldn't have been possible if the fence was in the way.
Across the creek on the Carrington side is a different story. The NSW government last year built a sandstone boulder sea wall along the foreshore and installed a stairway for beach access.
"We understand council has budgetary constraints," Mr Smith said.
"We're not trying to have miracles created. We just want safe access to the beach. We're proud of it. We maintain it. It's quite unique."
Mr Daly said he was worried someone would be injured trying to access the beach due to the submerged rocks and lack of formal access.
"We're coming into a nice summer," he said. "Lots of people enjoy using the beach."
Council said it was considering longer-term works, including reconstructing the entire seawall and footpath, "to meet future impacts of the tidal environment".
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Sage Swinton
Sage Swinton is a news reporter who was born and bred in the Hunter. She has been with the Newcastle Herald since June 2020, and covers Newcastle council as well as other general news.
Sage Swinton is a news reporter who was born and bred in the Hunter. She has been with the Newcastle Herald since June 2020, and covers Newcastle council as well as other general news.
