Posted on May 30, 2016
Kennedy Point Boatharbour Limited today released preliminary conceptual design plans for an approximately 200-berth marina proposed to be built at Kennedy Point in Putiki Bay, on the south-west side of Waiheke Island.
Leading New Zealand marina developer Tony Mair and an expert team of specialist consultants are conferring with interested parties on the concept designs and preparing an application for resource consent. Tony and his team have successfully completed numerous marina projects over the last 37 years. “The plans have been developed to minimise the impact to the proposed site and to offer benefits to the Waiheke Boating community,” he says.
A unique feature of the project is that it will not require any dredging to create a marina basin as the water is deep enough already. No regular maintenance dredging will be needed during the life of the marina due to the flushing benefits of the proposed breakwater design and the natural depths within the basin.
In a first for New Zealand, a car park structure will be built on large floating concrete pontoons, and stormwater run-off will be managed through a treatment and filtration system. The car park structure is to be manufactured off-site and then towed into position to minimise effects of construction and avoid the need for any reclamation.
The floating car park will provide parking spaces for approximately 80 cars and will sit on the water lower than the existing and proposed breakwaters and the boats moored in the marina. The design also does not affect the intertidal zone as the floating structures will be at least 100 metres away from the foreshore, allowing existing water-based activities to continue without impact.
The marina will be located adjacent to the existing rock breakwater, which currently protects commercial vehicular ferries. The site has already been modified with marine structures and commercial developments.
All materials for the project – including the rock for the breakwaters, the floating marina piers and piles, and concrete car park pontoons – will be brought in by barge to minimise noise and local disruptions. The marina office, storage, visitor facilities and proposed clubrooms will also be floating, a technique that has already been successfully utilised at sites such as Orakei Marina in Okahu Bay.
The completion of the new marina will open up a new market of visitors to Waiheke Island, with one in three Aucklanders owning some form of private vessel. To be managed in a similar way to Tutukaka marina near Whangarei, Kennedy Point Marina would offer short-term berthage for secure weekend or overnight trailer boat parking.
In addition to relieving some of the pressure of overcrowding in Waiheke Island’s bays in summer, the marina would increase options for visitors to Waiheke. As New Zealand’s first island marina, it would make the island a destination for boating groups that could book a berth and leave their vessels to enjoy the experience of Waiheke.
According to Mair, “This aspect of the marina will have a flow-on effect with job creation and income for local businesses such as accommodation providers, restaurants, vineyards, taxis, shuttles, supermarkets and tourist operators.”
Kennedy Point Boatharbour Limited has signed a consultation agreement with Ng?ti Paoa Group Holdings Limited, acknowledging the iwi’s cultural and historical association with Waiheke Island.
Source: Scoop
