The 116-year-old wharf has been shut since 2021. Photo: Save Petone Wharf / Supplied
An independent report has found a full refurbishment fixing Petone Wharf would cost more than the funding envelope Hutt City Council has allocated to save it.
The 116-year-old wharf has been shut since 2021 after an investigation found that parts of it were in very poor condition.
Last year councillors decided to commission an investigation into the price tag for either saving or demolishing the wharf.
They agreed that a maximum budget for any work on the wharf would be $12 million as part of their ten year budget.
That independent report - led by structural engineer Adam Thornton - looked at the costs for three options: a full restoration, partial restoration of the wharf or demolition.
It found that when contingency costs, average construction rates, project management fees and resource consents it would likely cost $14.2 million to fully restore it.
Under the same measure it would cost $11.6 million partially remediate the wharf which would involve demolishing just less than half of the wharf head (the part of the structure furthest from the shore) and $6.1 million to demolish it.
A spokesperson for the campaign John Roper told RNZ the report was positive as it showed at least some of the wharf could be saved.
"If you can't achieve the whole thing then a partial replacement or fixing is a good outcome."
Roper said partially repairing the structure was far better than the option of it being demolished.
Hutt City councillors will decide on what option to go with at a committee meeting on 30 April.
He said members of the Save Petone Wharf campaign would be at the meeting.
"We'll be there with bells on."
*Correction – This story’s headline has been amended to better reflect the report’s finding, and body copy regarding the length of the wharf which could be saved.
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