Consents widen inlet boat launching options

Resource consents have been granted for local authority plans for a new causeway, road and parking bay that will give an alternative boat launching option to residents on the south side of the Kerikeri Inlet.

A four-member joint Hearings Committee of the Northland Regional and Far North District Councils heard the application for the staged Windsor Inlet proposal at a hearing in Kerikeri last month, delivering its decisions recently.

The Committee was chaired by Regional Councillor Lorraine Hill, and also included fellow Regional Councillor Peter Jensen and two Independent Commissioners, Robin Shepherd and John Klaricich.

Applicant the Far North District Council had sought six consents needed for the staged project.

The location will provide an alternative launching place for residents on the south side of the Kerikeri Inlet, rather than at facilities located at Waipapa, Opito Bay and Doves Bay, which require travelling through the centre of Kerikeri and Waitangi.

Stage One involves forming road access and building a causeway via an approximately 600 square metre reclamation to allow access to an existing jetty and boat ramp at Windsor Inlet, as well as land use consent for vegetation removal and earthworks. (The jetty and boat ramp are currently accessed via private land, extending from Inlet Rd.)

Stage Two involves filling an approximately 1540 square metre area to provide a 10 bay sealed parking area for vehicles and boat trailers.

In its decision, the Committee – which visited the site on 19 October - noted that the area had already been “highly modified” by previous earthworks, man-made structures, concrete walls and the existing jetty and boat ramp.

The Committee noted that approximately 85 percent of the 92 submitters on the proposal had supported it and that expert evidence by an ecologist for the District Council was that the ecological impacts of the proposal would be minor. 

“The vegetation of mangroves in the area to be cleared is already significantly compromised by the obstruction of tidal flow to their locality and is not of significance when considered against the total mangrove population of the adjacent coastal marine area,” the Committee said.

“The small peninsula is predominately road reserve and coastal marine area and improved public access would benefit not only boaties, but also the public for general passive recreational activity, particularly during low tide times when the ramp is not accessible.”

Consents were granted until 30 June 2042, bar the reclamation, which was granted in perpetuity.

The Committee’s decision is open to appeal for 15 working days.