Surf lifesavers will be permanently visible at Tay Street for two weeks in the coming peak summer period thanks to a successful bid by Surf Life Saving New Zealand.

Tauranga City Council has approved SLNZ's application for the flagged area which will see four existing lifeguards from the Mount Maunganui and Papamoa services stationed at the beach between December 28 and January 12.

Surf Life Saving New Zealand eastern regional manager Chris Emmett. Photo: Bruce Barnard.

The service implementation, which comes at no cost to council, needs council approval as SLNZ currently has a contract with council for the provision of a regional lifeguard service through to 2016. The 2013/14 season contract value was $152,000.

The contract is for the three lifeguard services to patrol the beaches during the peak summer period – between December and February. The patrols run Monday to Friday, 10am to 6pm, as it is not possible to rely on volunteer guards at these times providing the level of service required for safety.

SLNZ eastern region manager Chris Emmett says Tay Street has been an area in need of a patrol for quite some time.

Between December 30, 2013 and January 1 there were two rescues at Tay St and six rescues the year before from December 29, 2012 and January 7, 2013.

'Tay Street is the second most frequented stretch of beach during the New Year and post New Year period. We have 1500 on the beach and up to 1400 in the water each day,” says Chris.

Chris says these initial two weeks are an intermediate step as the organisation's contract is up for renewal in 2016, where discussions of extra funding might be looked at.

He feels a three or four week period in the future would be an appropriate patrol time for the beach, something requiring extra funding, but this is not something to be considered for at least another two years.

'We have two years' worth of statistics behind us; for Tay Street we need three or four.”

Councillor Bev Edlin questioned SLNZ's ability to manage the public expectation of being visible at Tay Street summer outside the two week window – something Chris says is quite simple.

He says the majority of beachgoers during this time are visitors so it is just a matter of communicating with local residents, alleviated by a decrease in numbers compared to the two week slot – down to 150 per day.

Councillor Clayton Mitchell says this is a fantastic solution for a council under financial pressure to save 'as many dollars” as well as increased public safety.

Chris says the additional patrol will complement existing roaming patrols between the three surf clubs – Mount Maunganui, Omanu and Papamoa – and offer a much-needed service in an area high in water rescues.

Under a proposed resource distribution, Tay St will get both a junior and senior lifeguard for each of the two weeks.

The Mount Club will lose a lifeguard during the opening week of the season and two the following week two, along with one from Papamoa. The lifeguards will focus on patrolling areas around Tay St, Arataki and Papamoa East.

SLSNZ proposes a patrol time of 10am to 4pm as this is when the beach is in peak use.

Omanu volunteer lifeguards will also provide active patrols with a flagged area during the three weekends either side of the proposed patrol.