JUST one more day remains to have a say on the future of Anderson Point’s beach access, with the current steps set to be removed due to unstable footings.

The popular steps at the end of Wade Street were closed to the public last August by the Department of Environment, Energy and Climate Action (DEECA, previously DELWP).

In combination with the closure of the path below the cliffs under the lighthouse, there has been no allowed access to the beach, though it has not stopped the public getting there anyway, despite safety warnings.

It has been a plagued existence for the steps, which were built in 2007 and shortly afterwards closed for nearly five years due to a landslip.

The Department, (DSE at the time) had to spend over $1m at the time to stabilise the area just to the south of the steps to make the area safe, as well as paying for the steps to be reinstated, work that was carried out by Rotary Club of Portland volunteers and the steps were eventually reopened in May 2012.

When the steps were initially closed this time, the Department said high swells and weather had eroded the cliffs away along the point directly underneath the steps to a dangerous extent, and made it clear that they were unlikely to reopen.

Public information and feedback sessions were held in October and February, to advise a Portland Cliffs Coastal Adaption Plan, and the final stage of feedback is a survey on the Engage Victoria website open until tomorrow, as previously reported in The Observer.

Planning and approvals to remove the steps have begun, DEECA does not yet have a date for when they will come out, though according to the plan timeline says works will commence this month, and recommendations of the consultants and community will be implemented by the middle of the year.

“At this point in time, there is no safe solution to maintaining the current loop walk under the cliffs and Anderson Steps,” the website reads.

“We understand that the staircase and associated loop walk hold high community value. Our highest priority will be to explore options to maintain beach access while improving public safety.”

DEECA are investigating three options to supersede the steps – a new set of steps down to the beach from the whale lookout over the stabilised section of the cliff, or alternative loop walks either along the Northern end of Nuns Beach or from Anderson Point to the old cemetery, but again there are no dates confirmed for when this might happen.

“Feedback from the community is important in helping to shape the short- and long-term adaptation plan for the area,” the spokesperson said.

“We appreciate the community’s patience and the input received so far. We look forward to working with the community to improve the area for all users.”

Portland resident Justine Cain is a regular user of the stairs for exercise, and said she is worried that DEECA will not maintain access to the beach below the cliffs, particularly in the short term.

“My concern is that the steps are going to be pulled out and they’re not going to be replaced,” she said.

“They want to get rid of them, but from what I can see they have these ideas but they don’t have any funds to do it with.”

Ms Cain said she first heard about the Department’s plans for the steps a fortnight ago, and is urging residents and users of the steps to fill out the survey.

“We need to show them that it is important, that they can’t take it away.”

“I go there any time between six in the morning to six at night, and I see a massive amount of people using it for multiple reasons.

“Before (the steps) went in, the surfers used the goat tracks to get down, which probably wasn’t very safe but that’s what it will go back to if the steps aren’t there.

“That’s not fixing the problem.”