Baylys Beach Boardwalk

Baylys Beach is a popular Northland holiday spot, 14km from Dargaville. In 2018, Kaipara District Council received Tourism Infrastructure Fund (TIF) funding to build a boardwalk giving pedestrians safe access to the beach from the carpark. The first 100m section was completed in 2019, and the project was then put on hold until further funding became available.

We were asked to complete the feasibility and delivery of the second stage, which included extending the boardwalk to the carpark and upgrading the existing public toilet facility.

We were contracted in August 2023 to see the project from feasibility to completion.

The challenge

The boardwalk construction area sat within the coastal environment, next to a freshwater wetland, beach access and road access to residential properties. Working with the design team, the local community and the contractor, we maintained road offsets, achieved the right alignment for accessibility standards, and kept disruption to daily life in the community to a minimum.

The existing toilet facility was in poor condition. Rather than the planned refurbishment, we offered KDC an alternative: relocating the facility to a new position. This delivered cost savings both during construction and over the life of the asset.

Before construction could start, the design needed updating, to be consented, and further funding from KDC. There were also interdependencies with decommissioning and replacing the public toilets, and a separate community project to complete murals and relocate a Rotary Club memorial. Between these, several milestones were missed and the TIF agreement needed to be varied.

Our approach

The Baylys Beach boardwalk and public amenities had been a longstanding issue for KDC. With our support, KDC was able to get engagement and construction moving again.

We partnered with KDC, designers, contractors and the community to understand what mattered to them, and stayed involved through contract tender, contract award, construction supervision and handover — keeping locals engaged the whole way through.

The result was a well-coordinated project with great outcomes. The community now have accessible infrastructure for the daily dog walk or for a special trip to take in the West Coast’s stunning coastline.

Outcomes

The boardwalk opened to the public on 13th December 2024, fulfilling KDCs commitment to the Baylys Beach community. Baylys Beach now has a long lasting safe and accessible access to the Beach. The contractor’s Environmental and Sediment Control Plan was highly effective, with no incidents during construction. A portable extraction ventilation system controlled dust and shavings to protect the adjacent waterway and coastal marine area from contaminants, and parts of the old boardwalk structure were reused, reducing waste to landfill.