Waiheke Island marina gets the green light

Tony Mair, developer of a new 186-berth floating marina at Kennedy Point in Waiheke’s Putiki Bay, has been given resource consent for the project and he expects construction to take 18 months.

The marina will be west of the SeaLink car ferry terminal at Kennedy Point and will include up to 19 pile moorings, 30 public day berths, two Swedish-designed floating breakwaters to protect the berths, floating pontoons piers and wharf, a marina office, storage for kayaks and stand-up paddleboards, visitor facilities, café/public space, meeting room and a car park with up to 72 spaces. 

Marina Supporters and those opposing it gave evidence in front of five hearing commissioners at a week-long hearing last month but Mr Mair believes the decision he made earlier this year to change the design from rock breakwaters to floating attenuators helped reduce any environmental concerns at the site.

He has been involved in developing 17 marinas in New Zealand internationally and says in his 35 years in the industry he has never seen a more appropriate site.

“The water is deep, avoiding the need for dredging, and the coastline is already modified. The design is also unique, with all structures, including the car park, marina office, community building, breakwaters and marina fingers floating.”

The structures, to be manufactured by world-renowned company SF Marinas in Sweden, will be towed into place. Mr Mair says this will mitigate a lot of construction noise and onshore disturbance.

An artist's impression of the planned Waiheke Marina

In its final decision, the resource consent hearings panel found the marina proposal was consistent with relevant statutory policy provisions and that its adverse environmental effects were fully addressed and either minor or appropriately avoided, remedied or mitigated. 

Auckland Council consultant planner David Wren told the commissioners there were likely to be recreational and tourism benefits to having a marina on Waiheke. “The marina will provide another option for tourism operators and boat owners visiting the island as well as public access.”

Mr Mair’s proposal for the marina came four months after the liquidation of Graham Guthrie’s company Waiheke Marinas.

Mr Guthrie battled for five years to get approval for a marina at Matiatia, which the Environment Court rejected in December 2015.

The Kennedy Point Marina Supporters’ Group, which represents the more than 540 people who want a berth at the new marina, is delighted with the panel’s decision

“We are thrilled the commissioners have taken into account that there are two voices on Waiheke,” chairman Todd Parkin says. “For the first time, the boating community of Waiheke will have world-class facilities to safely moor their vessels.”

However, it is not the first time a marina has been proposed for Kennedy Point. In 1999, plans for a 230-berth marina to be built by Motu Marinas were opposed by locals and failed to go ahead.