The Portobello community has received the ''best Christmas present'' with the repair and early return of its pontoon.
Otago Community Board chairwoman Christine Garey made that comment yesterday and said she was delighted with the outcome.
She thanked Dunedin City Council staff and all involved for their ''hard work behind the scenes'', and the firms involved in completing repairs ''at a busy time of the year'' and making the pontoon's return a reality.
This effort was in keeping with the spirit of Christmas and was ''greatly appreciated''.
The pontoon was a much-loved community facility, used for swimming, boating and fishing activities, she said.
The pontoon was returned to Portobello after the city council accepted a ''without prejudice'' offer from the original contactor, Amalgamated Builders Ltd, for its repair.
Ms Garey said common sense and goodwill had prevailed in the end.
She looked forward to that continuing in the new year, with agreement among consultants Spiire, as well as Amalgamated Builders, and Action Engineering as to who would pay for the repairs.
Holes began appearing in the $382,000 jetty after it was opened in 2012 and previous repeated underwater repair efforts had failed.
DCC group manager, parks, recreation and aquatics, Mick Reece yesterday praised the ''really good civic responsibility'' shown by those concerned, in delivering a ''great Christmas present'' for the Portobello community.
He and his staff were ''hugely grateful'' for the pontoon's return, he said.
• A wharf and jetty at Deborah Bay have been closed to the public, and boat owners will need to access their boats using a dinghy, a city council spokesman said.
During high winds on Wednesday, the timber anchor pile at the northern end of the Deborah Bay marina pontoon had broken off while a boat was anchored alongside.
In order to make the jetty safe the council was having the pontoon towed away to a new position to secure it until a new pile could be installed in mid-January.
