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Rich guy puts weight behind anti-Waiheke Marina movement


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(You will need a Herald subscription to read in full)

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/mainfreight-founder-bruce-plested-battling-waiheke-island-marina-development/BLM4LORE7WYVXKLGARVC2R4XUY/

I can see pros and cons of this new marina.  But I am sort of against it because the thing will be aimed at the stink pot Riviera crowd with enormous berth rentals to match (if Orakei marina is anything to match it against), and not your local Yachtie in his 8-10m Keeler.

And the environmental impact has to be taken into account - though the marina developer appears to have taken reasonable steps to mitigate....not that I am a conservation expert and glad to be put right on that track too.

Interested in what crewdotorgers have to say, especially those that often visit or live on Waiheke.

 

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4 hours ago, Zozza said:

But I am sort of against it because the thing will be aimed at the stink pot Riviera crowd with enormous berth rentals to match (if Orakei marina is anything to match it against), and not your local Yachtie in his 8-10m Keeler.

 

I'm not sure that opposing a marina because the people that may use it are wealthy is the most compelling argument? 

People with nice boats derive as much pleasure from being out on the water as people with modest boats.

I am a little confused as to why there is all of this media attention and opposition to the marina now. Hasn't it already got Resource Consent?  I would have thought the opportunity to oppose it in anything other than an attention seeking / grandstanding / virtue signaling kid of way had passed some time ago.

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Anyone know if the plan is to fill it with permanent berth holders or keep a significant number of berths aside for higher paying (pro-rata) short-term visitors? Reason being due to its location I could imagine lots of demand for casual visitors (I would have used it last weekend for example instead of anchoring in Putiki Bay). I could also imagine a fair number of Aucklanders with holiday homes on Waiheke keen to park their runabouts which they’ve used to get the family + bags to the island each Friday afternoon. Until they’ve saved up for a Sealegs of course!

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Some snippets from the herald article:

Plans to develop Waiheke Island's first marina are opposed by Māori as well as rich-lister Bruce Plested, chairman and founder of Mainfreight with a $6.8 billion market capitalisation. Plested said he had given opponents SKP (previously called Save Kennedy Point) around $40,000 to pay for legal fees. "I just give SKP money so it's more of an even fight. We did a concert which raised about $40,000 for lawyers and I gave them an amount of money very similar to that three to six months ago."

On March 9, Kennedy Point Boatharbour began construction on-site of the island's first marina: a 186-berth project with 71 private car parks for berth holders, a new wharf, a central-spine walkway, cafe, offices, toilets, laundry and showers and stand-up paddleboard storage. The marina will be open to the public during daylight hours, with access available to the main marina pier and café. The project is downsized from the original plans. "We changed from a u-shape to a central pine walkway 3.3m wide by 150m long."

Daughter Sarah Mair is marketing and sales manager and Tony Mair says more than 1000 people are on the company's database, updated about the project's progress. Of initial expressions of interest in berths, 68 per cent have indicated they are Waiheke ratepayers, Mair says.
Of the 186 berths, 150 are pre-sold, with deposits taken of around 20 per cent and balances due as the project reaches hallmark stages. All berths beside the wharf, closest to the land, are pre-sold. Some small berths in the centre and other longer berths further out into the bay are unsold. The cheapest berths went for $180,000.
Berths are 10m, 12m, 14m and 16m: "When I started, the average berth length at Westharbour around 1980 was 9m but now the average is 18m."
People expect more, boats got bigger. Mair estimates a quarter of berths are for sailboats, the rest for motorboats.

In 2016, when Auckland Council granted consent, SKP appealed that to the Environment Court but was refused and the consent was upheld. So SKP went to the High Court asking for permission for a rehearing in the Environment Court on the basis of having new evidence. The High Court said no.
So it went to the Court of Appeal, which also said no.
Now, SKP is going to the Supreme Court to get the High Court ruling overturned and allow it to go back to the Environment Court.

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44 minutes ago, ex Elly said:

In 2016, when Auckland Council granted consent, SKP appealed that to the Environment Court but was refused and the consent was upheld. So SKP went to the High Court asking for permission for a rehearing in the Environment Court on the basis of having new evidence. The High Court said no.
So it went to the Court of Appeal, which also said no.
Now, SKP is going to the Supreme Court to get the High Court ruling overturned and allow it to go back to the Environment Court.

This bit really makes it sound like they are pissing into the wind...

I'm not entirely sure why the Herald needed to quote the market capitalisation of Mainfreight. Its not the guys net worth or anything. Looks more like classic Herald sensationalism.

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1 hour ago, Fogg said:

Anyone know if the plan is to fill it with permanent berth holders or keep a significant number of berths aside for higher paying (pro-rata) short-term visitors? Reason being due to its location I could imagine lots of demand for casual visitors (I would have used it last weekend for example instead of anchoring in Putiki Bay). I could also imagine a fair number of Aucklanders with holiday homes on Waiheke keen to park their runabouts which they’ve used to get the family + bags to the island each Friday afternoon. Until they’ve saved up for a Sealegs of course!

It will be permanent berth holders, and probably casual rentals of those berths when the berth is vacant, at the berth owner's discretion

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45 minutes ago, Fish said:

This bit really makes it sound like they are pissing into the wind...

I'm not entirely sure why the Herald needed to quote the market capitalisation of Mainfreight. Its not the guys net worth or anything. Looks more like classic Herald sensationalism.

I was less impressed by their use of presold. There is no such word. It's either sold or it isn't. 

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5 hours ago, dutyfree said:

Given the rotting shitters, floating and beached around that area I think the locals have their focus in the wrong place.

I had a local tell me with some pride this weekend that the current NZer of the year used to live on a houseboat on the south side. Wonder if it was a rotten shitter?

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3 minutes ago, Black Panther said:

I was less impressed by their use of presold. There is no such word. It's either sold or it isn't. 

presell

[ pree-sel ]SHOW IPA

verb (used with object), pre·sold, pre·sell·ing.

to sell in advance, as before manufacture or construction:to presell a planned house.
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In this current climate if a Rahui around Waiheke Island .I feel it would be best to put on hold for next 3yrs.Once they start digging/piling etc silt and maybe  heavy metals will smother beds that they are trying save.

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37 minutes ago, harrytom said:

In this current climate if a Rahui around Waiheke Island .I feel it would be best to put on hold for next 3yrs.Once they start digging/piling etc silt and maybe  heavy metals will smother beds that they are trying save.

Simply not realistic to put large commercial / construction projects on hold for 3 years. And what is that likely to achieve? Linking the blatant mismanagement of fisheries to blocking already consented marinas?

Further, this marina is not constructing any breakwaters, not shifting any spoil etc. It is an entirely floating marina. So I'm not sure where you are going to get all of this sediment and heavy metal from that is going to smoother everything?

This same emotive response comes from a lot of people about land development as well. There is a formal planning process, everyone pays their money and goes through that, and then when construction starts, someone gets their tits in a tangle. The great irony is that the vast majority of people that object to land development live in houses, drive on roads, and enjoy amenities such as phone, power and water that were put there by said land developers.

Here is a different angle to think about it from. The marina may reduce the total environmental impact around Waiheke, due to removing the number and frequency of boats anchoring. Anchoring stirs up silts and sediments. But most importantly, anchoring destroys sea grass lawns that are essential for juvenile fish and a wide range of other benthic life.

If people are truly serious about protecting the Waiheke environment and fisheries, possibly consider not sailing or anchoring there?

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1 hour ago, Fish said:

Simply not realistic to put large commercial / construction projects on hold for 3 years. And what is that likely to achieve? Linking the blatant mismanagement of fisheries to blocking already consented marinas?

Further, this marina is not constructing any breakwaters, not shifting any spoil etc. It is an entirely floating marina. So I'm not sure where you are going to get all of this sediment and heavy metal from that is going to smoother everything?

This same emotive response comes from a lot of people about land development as well. There is a formal planning process, everyone pays their money and goes through that, and then when construction starts, someone gets their tits in a tangle. The great irony is that the vast majority of people that object to land development live in houses, drive on roads, and enjoy amenities such as phone, power and water that were put there by said land developers.

Here is a different angle to think about it from. The marina may reduce the total environmental impact around Waiheke, due to removing the number and frequency of boats anchoring. Anchoring stirs up silts and sediments. But most importantly, anchoring destroys sea grass lawns that are essential for juvenile fish and a wide range of other benthic life.

If people are truly serious about protecting the Waiheke environment and fisheries, possibly consider not sailing or anchoring there?

There will be dredging of some sort and piles driven in,maybe a floating marina but what do think is going to hold it place,piles,walkway held with piles.I do not see a problem with it going ahead or not but I can see Maori objecting to it now the Government may back the Rahui. Cannot help but feel there will be a treaty clam/pay out somewhere during or before construction.

Where will marina development end??Bon accord harbour,why not??Port Fitzroy?? Clevdon river?? Coromandel harbour has been ruled out so lets put one in at Te Kouma?

It will end up no anchoring and an inspector arriving to drop the green/blue dye in the crapper to make sure you dont use it.

 

 

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