Taieri Mouth resident Phil Doddington recently talked about his frustration with the Clutha District Council (CDC) after being given "the runaround" when it comes to repairing Knarston Park.
"Others and I in the town have been unhappy with the state of the park for ages," Mr Doddington said.
The Knarston Park shoreline wall had been "failing" due to unsuitable rock used to rebuild it in an effort to stop further erosion on the shoreline, he said.
"The original erosion fix was a good idea and we were glad it happened.
"But when we realised it was not a good permanent solution we got back in touch, and we’re still trying to get in touch now to have an official solution.
"It feels like we’ve been asking for ages to get it properly fixed, and we keep getting the runaround.
"It has become a health and safety issue now.
"People can no longer walk along the beach and if they were to, it would be difficult not to get hurt."
He said he was a regular user of the beach until he could no longer use it for fear of getting hurt.
"We have had huge rates increase from both councils [the other is Otago Regional Council] and get nothing for it.
"It’s a really popular spot for many. Loads of people come here when the holidays roll around, especially in the New Year, or even just when the sun is out."
Another resident, who preferred not to be named, was a regular user of the beach with his dog, but had to go elsewhere so they were not susceptible to hurting themselves from the rock on the beach.
Mr Doddington said the town was "not asking for much".
"All we’re asking for is a half or full day of a digger to pull the rocks off the beach as a start," he said.
"It’s not much. We see other towns getting lots, and we’re getting left out.
"It’s pretty unfair, especially when this small town receives a lot of attention from visitors and people who own holidays homes here."
The area is owned by the Department of Conservation and managed by the CDC.
Clutha District Council’s media team responded, admitting the rock for the wall’s rebuild was "unsuitable" and was failing.
The CDC said a digger was set up to remove loose rocks from the beach, which fixed the issue temporarily.
The council was "unable to do any repairs to the wall until we have obtained a resource consent".
It was working with the ORC to investigate consent options and to include fixing the wall completely in a future works programme.
