Southland District Council has agreed to spend $40,000 on a pontoon at Steamers Beach on Lake Te Anau, after an unauthorised floating structure installed by a community member attracted strong public support last summer.
Whether the council will purchase the existing pontoon or replace it with a compliant one has not yet been decided.
The structure — fitted with a ladder, seat and stairs — does not meet Department of Conservation or Environment Southland regulations. Council community partnership leader Stella O'Connor told councillors on Wednesday the pontoon was put in by a member of the community and received "huge and significant community support."
O'Connor said it made sense to have a pontoon at Steamers Beach because it was a non-motorised vehicle area.
Doc had asked the Fiordland Community Board if they could work with the pontoon's instigator to make it compliant. A report prepared for the meeting showed there had been discussions between Doc, council staff, the community board chair and the person who installed the pontoon.
Following those discussions, Doc requested the pontoon be removed and that any future pontoon follow the proper processes for concession and resource consent. "The community member has agreed to remove the temporary structure and has requested support for a permanent compliant pontoon from the board," the report said.
Despite that instruction, the pontoon has remained on the lake.
Doc Te Anau operations manager John Lucas said the department met with the people behind the pontoon and asked them to submit a permit application.
"During this meeting, the pontoon owners mentioned they planned to remove it over winter to complete some alterations and maintenance," Lucas said.
"The pontoon is still at Steamers Beach and to date no permit application has been received."
Lucas explained the structure sat within the national park, and the department was responsible for managing all structures within that area through concessions or permits.
The council's pontoon project is expected to be delivered during the current financial year, which ends June 2027. During the meeting, deputy mayor Christine Menzies asked if it was possible to deliver the project within that timeframe without compromising others.
Council acting general manager Jendi Paterson indicated the council would do what it had to: "We will make it work. The community has spoken."
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