Marina Plan To Put Nelson ‘on The Map’

Tuesday, 15 April 2025, 8:01 pm
Article: Max Frethey - Local Democracy Reporter

The Nelson Marina is currently finalising its goals for the coming year and beyond, but what exactly is planned down at the city's waterfront?

The marina has been laying the groundwork for five years in the lead-up to the upcoming 2025/26 financial year.

In 2021, Nelson City Council took back control of the facility from its own company, Nelmac.

Since then, the marina has brought on a new manager, been bundled into its own council-controlled organisation, and drawn up a masterplan for its future.

Nelson Marina is also in the process of having the council’s marina assets transferred to its ownership, which will be complete on 1 July.

As a result, the marina’s currently-in-development Statement of Intent for 2025/26 to the council will be its first with its new structure fully in place.

All the changes have been made to help the council meet its goal of developing the marina to support both the city’s links to the sea and its marine sector.

The marina itself also wants to become an “internationally recognised” maritime hub.

But what’s in the Statement of Intent to work towards those goals?

Currently underway is the $2 million marina promenade project, $1.13m of which is funded by a Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment grant.

The 5-metre-wide shared path will start about 100 metres from Akersten Street’s intersection with Wildman Avenue before running for about 650 metres, past Ruby’s Espresso café, before ending at Jetty F and will be complete with plantings, seating, and lighting.

But the promenade is only just the start, with more than $55 million slated for marina development over the next decade.

Over the next five years, Nelson Marina hopes to complete a new marine centre and a sea sports centre, and extend the marina.

Just in the 2025/26 financial year, the marina hopes to complete the planning work for those new facilities while also installing a new, larger straddle lift and upgrading the boat yard.

All the planned investments would drive the value of the marina’s assets up to almost $96 million by the end of the forecast period in 2034/35.

But most of the projects are debt-funded, with debt expected to reach just over $73 million – to more than three times the value of the marina’s total equity – in 2030/31.

“That really is the lowest point we could continue to justify the existence of the company and the solvency of the company,” marina board chair Paul Steere told elected members earlier this month.

Nelson Marina is only expected to become profitable 2031/32, at which point it will start paying down its debt, until its debt and net profit reaches $53.5m and $8.5m respectively by the end of the decade.

The boat yard and larger straddle lift, the expanded berths within the expanded marina, and the marine centre are forecast to be the marina’s main sources of revenue.

A “long waiting list” for berths and lack of comparable straddle lift in the wider region have the marina believing they’ll be profitable ventures, but none of the slated projects will go ahead without being supported by positive business cases.

“We do believe from our discussions around the region that there will be demand,” Steere said.

Councillor Tim Skinner said the plans for the facility were “very pivotal” and would leverage the marina’s “promise and potential”.

“This has got so much going for it, and it puts us on the map.”

Nelson Mayor Nick Smith agreed that the plan was “very exciting” but had reservations about the extent of the planned development.

“Ithink the capital programme is beyond what we can do without government support.”

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