Forest & Bird is urging the government not to fund an environmentally damaging marina development in Coromandel.
Pita Street Development Ltd is seeking about $20 million from the government’s Provincial Growth Fund to construct the
first stage of the Coromandel Marine Gateway, says Forest & Bird central North Island regional manager Rebecca Stirnemann.
"This project could have a devastating impact on Coromandel harbour and wetlands, so it should not be funded by the
government.
“We’re not impressed that the Provincial Growth Fund has already paid $93,000 towards a feasibility study for this
project, without considering the environmental impacts carefully enough” says Dr Stirnemann.
The project would involve digging out a significant amount of sediment and mangroves on the margins of Coromandel
Harbour to construct a marina basin and dredging a canal to deeper water.
During the past ten years, Thames Coromandel District Council has commissioned studies that showed elevated levels of
heavy metals, including arsenic and mercury, in the sea floor of Coromandel Harbour.
Dredging could release these toxic heavy metals into the marine ecosystem, harming a wide range of sea life, says Dr
Stirnemann.
Public concerns over the latest proposal forced the developers to commission a study of the levels of heavy metals in
the area. The findings of the company’s consultants, however, were at odds with those of previous studies.
“We’re concerned that the developer’s consultants seem to be downplaying the risks to the environment,” says Dr
Stirnemann.
The developers are suggesting contaminated dredgings could be dumped at sea off Great Barrier Island, an area of special
significance to threatened species, such as whales and turtles, she says.
The developers have said they will contribute $15 million for the project. However, the total cost is estimated to be up
to $50 million.
The development would include a terminal for a ferry service to and from Auckland, marina berths, about 88 car parking
spaces, a boat stacker for 210 boats, and a hardstand for up to 53 boats. Other buildings, including 10 to 12 new
apartments, are also planned.
The same developer’s plans for a 350-berth marina and ferry terminal at Coromandel were turned down in 2000.
That application was declined because of the harm it would have caused to the Coromandel Harbour and its critical
intertidal habitats, says Dr Stirnemann.
“Both the earlier proposal and the new plans would result in the loss of bird habitat and cause damage to an area with
high conservation values,” she says.
“This proposal is particularly inappropriate in the light of sea level rise predictions and government guidelines to
protect coastal estuarine habitat.”
Hazard maps developed by Waikato Regional Council show a high likelihood that the development could be under 1.4 metres
of water in every 10-year flood by 2100.
“There is significant local opposition to this proposal.
“Forest & Bird supports sustainable development in provincial areas, but this project should not be funded with taxpayers’ money.
“We call on the Provincial Growth Fund to reject funding for the Coromandel Marine Gateway and bury this environmentally
damaging project forever,” Dr Stirnemann says.