Ideas wanted for Port Operational Plan Review

A series of public open days on 7, 8 and 9 April 2010 are planned to gather ideas and suggestions for improvements to the Whakatane District Council’s port and harbour assets.

The review is to update the current Port Operational Plan that was adopted in 2003.
The open days are planned early in the review project to canvas the views of users of the Council’s port facilities and gather ideas for opportunities for the assets and the activities associated with those assets so they can be considered as part of the plan,” explains the Council’s Community Facilities Manager Paula Chapman.

The Council is keen to hear the ideas, feedback and suggestions of all users such as boat owners, waka ama clubs, surfers, swimmers, residents, walkers and runners and all other recreational users.

The project will bring together existing proposals such as the Whakatane Long-Term Council Community Plan 2009-2019, the Whakatane Town Vision Plan and the Port Ohope Concept Plan into one document that sets out the future strategic direction for the District’s Ports and Harbour facilities.
Mrs Chapman explains, “We are taking the approach of ensuring the review pulls together plans already approved by the Council that impact on the harbour assets or activities. However, the review itself will focus on the port and harbour assets.”

Whakatane District Council has contracted Harrison Grierson to conduct the review, run the public open days, consult with stakeholders and provide Council with an updated operational plan.

Harrison Grierson’s Senior Planner Tim Fergusson will project manage the review, undertaking three areas of consultation with key agencies and tangata whenua; the general public; and organisations, groups and clubs who use the facilities.
The open days will be informal sessions where members of the public are invited to pop in and discuss their ideas.

This is the first level of consultation regarding the Ports Operational Plan and those who wish to provide feedback on the draft plan are encouraged to provide their contact details. People who are not able to attend will still be able to comment on the draft plan, which is expected to be available for review in mid 2010.

While this project includes the Whakatane Harbour, the issues of a navigable channel and improved harbour access to Whakatane are being investigated in a separate study called “The Whakatane Harbour Entrance Improvement” project due for completion later this year.

The Whakatane District Council owns and operates port assets at three locations within the district. These include the Whakatane Harbour on the Whakatane River, Thornton jetty and boat ramp on the Rangitaiki River and Port Ohope on Ohiwa Harbour. Within these three localities there are eight main facilities, which are the Whakatane Commercial Wharf, Game Wharf and Ramp, Otuawhaki (Green) Wharf, Ohope Wharf, Ohiwa Ramp and Thornton Ramp.


THE OPEN DAYS WILL BE HELD AT:

Thornton Beach Holiday Park on Wednesday, 7 April between 3pm – 6pm.

Port Ohope Yacht Club on Thursday, 8th April between 3pm – 6pm.

Whakatane Coastguard on Friday, 9 April between 2pm – 6pm.