Temporary access round the currently closed section of Mauao base track will be restored by early August.

A 14 metre section of track around the harbour side was lost in a slip in April.

Tauranga City Council this week agreed to a $2.2 million rebuild programme that will see the track rebuilt lower down and closer to the water.

The City Council has submitted an emergency application for temporary access to Heritage New Zealand.

This process takes five days, followed by a review period of 15 days. The build work should take about two weeks, says city council parks and recreation manager Mark Smith.

'We'd like to say thank you to the Tauranga community, which has been so patient with us as we've raced to get access sorted,” says Mark.

'We'll keep the temporary access in place until a long-term solution is complete. While we've got a lot to work through, we're hopeful we can get the long-term solution in place by summer 2017-2018.”

Council will build wooden steps to divert people up and over the slip site.

The steps are intended to have a shorter lifespan than other tracks, with minimal impact on the ground so they can be removed at a later date without damage to the natural environment and a significant archaeological site in the area.

Unlike the planned long-term fix, which involves rerouting part of the base track to run along the beach, the temporary solution will not be accessible for wheelchairs and prams.