A City of Newcastle contract to upgrade Bathers Way at South Newcastle Beach has increased again and is now $4.5 million more than when the project was announced.
The council's contracts register shows its July 2020 agreement with construction firm Lloyd Group for $10.997 million now stands at $15.578 million.
The council's 2021 annual report valued the Bathers Way contract with Lloyd at $14,377,285. The report also listed a separate $1.507 million contract with Convic Pty Ltd for the skate park.
Council chief executive Jeremy Bath said at the time that the Convic contract was included in the Lloyd contract, which reflected the total value of the work.
The council blamed the increases outlined in last year's annual report on the cost of replacing a section of seawall which collapsed in heavy seas in May 2021 and preserving South Newcastle's 113-year-old stone arches.
The project's cost, as outlined in the updated Lloyd contract, has grown by another $1.2 million since then.
South Newcastle Beach surfer and long-time opponent of the skate park plan Bernie Wilson said the cost increases showed "the project is in the wrong place".
"It should have been at the foreshore. It would have been easier to deliver the project on budget and on time in an environmentally sensitive manner," he said.
Mr Wilson said he and other surfers had seen concrete being ripped up and replaced on the construction site at least three times.
The council announced the Bathers Way upgrade and skate park in 2018 as an $11 million project which had attracted a $5 million state government grant.
Independent councillor John Church questioned the council's record of delivering large-scale projects.
He said the cost of fitting out the council's new offices in Newcastle West had "blown out" from $7 million to $17.6 million and the cost of demolishing the King Street car park had doubled from $3.37 million to $6.97.
"That project was meant to be completed in January this year," he said. "Now the South Newcastle project looks like it has ballooned."
He said the original Lloyd contract was for 48 weeks.
"At variation 16 the cost is up to $15.578 million and 110 weeks," he said.
A council spokesperson said the project was scheduled for completion early next year "having been impacted during recent months by the extreme rainfall".
"The skate park, replacement of the existing South Newcastle seawall and restoration and preservation of the historic South Newcastle stone arches have been included in the current contract works, resulting in an increase to the contract cost," the spokesperson said.
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