December 11 2014

MEDIA RELEASE

Next phase of Lyttelton Port recovery underway

Environment Canterbury has confirmed that it has received the information it needs to proceed with developing a recovery plan for Lyttelton Port.

Environment Canterbury (ECan) commissioners confirmed that the Lyttelton Port Company Limited had provided the necessary information at a special council meeting today.

Commissioner, Professor Peter Skelton, said the information supplied contained the necessary and sufficient information to enable ECan to develop a preliminary draft Lyttelton Port Recovery Plan (LPRP) as directed in June by the Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery, Gerry Brownlee.

Professor Skelton acknowledged the significant amount of work and resources that had gone into producing the information in a relatively short timeframe.

“Environment Canterbury now has the task of considering the technical and other information supplied by the Port Company and preparing the preliminary draft Recovery Plan, which will take into account the information supplied by the Port Company,” Peter Skelton said.

“We will also look at other areas within the geographic scope of the recovery plan, such as Norwich Quay and Naval Point. The Port Company could not cover these areas in detail in its information because they include land and assets owned by other entities, but their inclusion in our scope of work provides the opportunity to take a holistic approach to the relationship between the port and the township.”

Peter Skelton said Environment Canterbury would consult with partner agencies, including Christchurch City Council, Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, Department of Conservation and the New Zealand Transport Agency, and factor these into the preliminary draft Recovery Plan, along with the information supplied by the Port Company, before consulting with the public in April next year.

The Lyttelton Port Company Limited (LPC) consulted on its Port Lyttelton Plan (PLP) between June and September, which helped inform its information package presented to Environment Canterbury on November 13.

“The Port was badly damaged in the Canterbury earthquakes and the Lyttelton Port Recovery Plan will help streamline its recovery by providing greater planning certainty for the Port, port users, territorial authorities and the community,” Dame Margaret said.

“It will also provide the opportunity for people to consider and comment on the Port recovery proposal as a whole, in the context of the recovery of Lyttelton and greater Christchurch.”

What happens next?

Environment Canterbury will prepare a preliminary draft Lyttelton Port Recovery Plan and intends to invite comments and submissions from the public from mid-April 2015. Submitters also have the opportunity to present their views at a hearing in June.

Submissions and formal presentations will be taken into consideration, along with the Port’s information supplied, in the resulting draft Lyttelton Port Recovery Plan. The draft Plan will be presented to the Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery by mid-August 2015. The Minister will publicly notify the draft Plan, invite written comments from the public and then make a decision.

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