A solution to a long-running controversy over a proposed footpath near waterfront homes in Port Hedland is no nearer to being found and will have to be considered by a newly-elected council later in the year.
Home owners in Port Hedland with prime waterfront views raised concerns when surveyors laid out lines and pegs a metre from their glass-fronted windows in preparation for a new footpath.
Angry residents attacked the Town of Port Hedland Commissioner — appointed after the suspension of the previous council — on social media over lack of consultation.
Now Commissioner Fred Riebeling has handed the issue to a new council, due to be elected in October.
The Commissioner has blamed politicisation of the issue for his decision, caving in to pressure from waterfront residents who cite privacy concerns for their objections.
"This is a project that's been talked about for 13 or 14 years," Mr Riebeling said.
"Some of the people who have been making comment have been directly involved in making sure it doesn't happen in the past.
"It's not the great wall of Port Hedland, it's a footpath."
'Too divisive'
Mr Riebeling said he was disappointed that 16,000 residents would now have to wait months after complaints by a few waterfront property holders.
"As a commissioner, I do not believe it is my role to become involved in local political issues," Mr Riebeling said.
"This issue has become far too divisive."
He decided the matter should be dealt with quickly by the new council after his tenure has finished. He was appointed in July 2019.
The Minister for Local Government David Templeman was forced to suspend the previous council after 18 months of complaints with no resolution after the appointment of a mentor.
The controversial joint cycle/footpath in front of Kingsmill St properties on the foreshore of Port Hedland's beach at the Spoilbank — a sand bank built when the port was created — was intended to complement the building of the new marina announced recently, to improve liveability.
Mr Riebeling said no council anywhere needed to consult with the community when building a footpath, and the community had been consulted during an earlier phase of the Community Strategic Plan.
He said the path would now be four metres away from housing at the northern end, once the new council reactivated the project.
Port Hedland resident Glenn Robinson believes the $300,000 budget is a about one third of the actual cost of the pathway, given the sand dune dilapidation risks which require earth-retaining works.
He said a boardwalk had been discussed during planning, but not a footpath or cycleway.
He said he had serious environmental concerns and said geotechnical investigation is needed to determine stability risks to neighbouring properties.
