Church Bay in Southampton will get a new boardwalk, however the construction will not be done by Works & Engineering staff but will be hired out to a private company.

"As far as I am aware (the boardwalk contract) is going to go out to a private contractor," Bermuda's Park Planner, Drew Pettit said yesterday.

Church Bay was wrecked by Hurricane Fabian in September, 2003. It has been closed to the public because of the instability of the cliffs around the path.

"Unfortunately the 'Danger' sign keeps getting ripped down," Mr. Pettit said.

The contract for a new wooden boardwalk will be put out to tender in March.

"Because it is wood, it can be constructed quite quickly, with minimal damage to the natural environment," he said.

But Parks did not intend to "put back the existing pathway to the beach as a permanent route as the majority is sand dune" and was more exposed to the elements.

He added that the old location could be made hurricane-proof if it was built out of reinforced concrete, for example, however, it would be likely that the sand around the concrete would be washed away resulting in more repairs.

"We don't fight nature," he said. "We try to work with it".

The new location for the path will be to the east of the beach.

"We want to do it the quickest and most cost effective way and a wooden set of stairs and boardwalk is the best way," he said.

Snorkellers should be able to access the beach in the summer, after work on a temporary staircase is complete.

"We will shore up the cliff face with boulders and plants to make it safe," Mr. Pettit said.

Once the boardwalk is complete, the temporary pathway will be deconstructed.

But the Park Planner said it was not the responsibility of Works & Engineering to do the work.

He said Works & Engineering staff had not been to the beach since the initial Post-Fabian clean-up in September 2003.

And when asked whether he thought W&E staff could be doing the work after a recent statement by Bermuda Industrial Union President Derrick Burgess that W&E staff were left idle while management contracted out work to the private sector, he said this only related to Works & Engineering maintenance staff.

And he said it was totally up to W&E whether their staff worked on the project.

Lee Sylvester of Works & Engineering said yesterday: "The access to the beach and the foreshore immediately adjacent to and supporting the access ramp was severely damaged during Hurricane Fabian.

"Following the storm, the Department of Parks closed the beach to the public until remedial works could be undertaken.

"The Ministry of Works and Engineering and Housing is currently working with the Department of Parks to design a safe replacement access route to the bay. We anticipate that the remedial works will commence in the spring of 2005."