COUNCILLORS at Christchurch have voted in favour of setting up a dedicated team to reconsider all available options to repair the Highcliffe zig zag.

A notice of motion to rescind the contentious decision made earlier this year and set up a task and finish group came before a meeting of the full council at Christchurch on Tuesday.

Six members signed the motion to get the issue taken back to the meeting to be debated again.

They wanted alternative design and build tenders to be sought along with other funding options.

In August, councillors agreed not to proceed with reconstruction of the path, and to explore other options for beach access.

The path had been closed weeks earlier due to safety concerns.

At the meeting on Tuesday members resolved to form a cross borough group to work with residents and officers on re-establishing a gradient path between Highcliffe Castle and the beach.

The motion, proposed by Cllr Vicki Hallam, proved contentious with some members, who put forward an amendment not to rescind the minute relating to the community committee decision.

Cllr David Jones, who proposed the amendment, said the council was entering dangerous territory if it started rescinding minutes from previous meetings.

“We got here through a series of accidents, miscalculations and shall we say missed opportunities and I fear a misunderstanding,” Cllr Jones said.

“If I had sat on community committee and been presented with the officer's report, no other information, I would have to had voted with Cllr Lofts in favour of the officer’s recommendation, but a lot more information has come to light.”

The amendment was voted down, before final discussions on the motion continued, with continual remarks from the public.

Cllr Claire Bath, who seconded Cllr Hallam’s proposal, said: “Our residents, overwhelmingly, are in support of trying to find a way to do this. They formed a group fronted by many professionals in many fields to look at other options.

“I believe we should work with their expertise given freely and the time they have given to this so far to achieve a solution that works for everybody.”

The task and finish group will aim to obtain reduced costings by revising the specifications put to engineers, as well as seeking 10, 15 and 20-year solutions.

The decision comes after 3,000 residents signed a petition calling for the path to be repaired.

A report sent to councillors ahead of the meeting said the works can be completed for £572,000 as opposed to the figures put forward by council officers.

The report, compiled by local campaigners including Bob Hutchings, Nigel Brooks and Peter Fenning, says the option to drive ‘king’ piles into the ground “will significantly disturb the geology of the area,” a site of special scientific interest.

It says there has been “no transparency about the £400,000 added to the estimate by council officers” and that other elements outlined in the schedule of works could be done much more cheaply.

The group plans to report back to council in February.