Well-loved and historic wharfs in Wellington have been found to be in need of urgent repairs.
The East by West ferry still uses the Seatoun wharf which needs repairs. Photo: RNZ / Alexander Robertson
Officers are asking the council to sign off on $4 million over 10 years to fix them.
They would like to see $2m put in next year's annual plan to fix Seatoun Wharf, which is used heavily. Seatoun and Cog Park Wharf were the two structures said to hold the greatest risk.
The end of Seatoun Wharf had been closed off for safety but the East by West ferry could still use it, and people could still access the wharf.
The assessment of the structures happened every five years, said Paul Andrews, manager of parks, sport, and recreation.
He said Seatoun was a priority because it was highly used recreationally, but also had some commercial uses.
It was possible it would have to be closed at some point during repairs.
In fixing the structures, the council would also need to consider the heritage value of them - with some dating as far back as 1901.
Council officers also recommended the historical, but crumbling, Patent Slipway Jetty be demolished, at a cost of $150,000. Fixing the structure would cost $1 million.
Mr Andrews said it was built in the 1930s and the condition of it was now very poor.
"With a lot of these structures you get to the point where repair is not an option, they need to be replaced, and that's very much the case if we were to continue to have a wharf at the Patent Slip area."
The wharf and other structures did have important heritage value - and through the consent process it was possible the price to fix Seatoun wharf, Karaka Bay wharf, and Cog Park jetty could go up.
