Lake Dive Hut won’t be rebuilt before July 2023 at the earliest, DOC says.

The 16-bunk hut on Taranaki Maunga was razed by fire in September 2020.

Homeless man Daniel Banks, who had been living on the mountain, was arrested and charged with arson soon after the blaze. Banks had allegedly been sleeping in front of the fireplace and feeding it with wood but moved outside because it was filling with smoke, leaving the firebox open in the process.

However, the case against Banks was recently halted after he had spent nearly two years in jail awaiting trial.

Judge Tony Greig deemed the delay, due to the lack of a trial date, to be unacceptable.

DOC New Plymouth operations manager Gareth Hopkins said the department and mana whenua wanted the hut replaced.

“The process to secure funding and rebuild a hut takes time,” Hopkins said.

His office has included the estimated $800,000 cost in its budget, “but this will be for the 2023/24 financial year at the earliest as DOC works to allocate limited funds against national priorities”.