Done

I got a notice reminding me of the renewal of this website, which inspired me to come back to it to formally declare victory!

Here's the summary for those who haven't read it yet:

Key Findings

1. Contamination Risks – The site is the former Fruitgrowers’ Chemical Company (FCC) land, extensively contaminated with pesticides. Although capped in the early 2000s, marine sediments were never remediated and contamination persists. Commissioners found unacceptable and uncertain risks from disturbing capped soils and sediments during construction.

2. Safety Concerns – The ramp design placed the retrieval point in strong tidal currents at the Waimea Inlet entrance. Potential conflicts with swimmers and lack of a pontoon or safe tie-up point were identified as significant hazards.

3. Open Space & Recreation – Waterfront Park is a valued public green space. The proposal would reduce public recreation opportunities and change the open character of the park.

4. Traffic & Parking – The project risked congestion and overflow pressures at Tahi Street and Kite Park, especially during peak summer use.

5. Planning Framework – Although the Reserve Management Plan (2022) allows for a ramp in principle, this is conditional on managing risks. The Commissioners determined that the application failed to adequately address these concerns.

Decision

The applications were declined due to unacceptable contamination risks and safety concerns. The site was considered unsuitable for a boat ramp of the proposed scale given environmental, safety, and amenity issues.

As a group we can take pride in our role, and there were key contributions from individuals:

• Our star was Jenny Easton. Her intimate knowledge of the area was described by the commissioners as "valuable", and she was clearly a more expert witness than the Trust' expensive consultants. She was the rock their dumb idea foundered on.

• Jenn Benden was an expert witnesses, we commissioned and the Commissioners accepted her evidence around the loss of open space values.

• Sally Gepp was our KC. She raised the argument that the the construction could constitute a reclamation needing a separate consent. The Trust won that one, but Sally' bigger role was writing the score for the Friends of Mapua Waterfront 'orchestra'

• Gordon Adamson was a powerful witness on the safety issues. Gordy has been involved in rescues in Mapua for 20+ years and again was more expert on safety than anyone the Trust could muster.

• Outside the report, there were major contributions from:

  • Kate Mitchell, who conducted the Friends 'Orchestra' with great patience and huge hours.

  • David Martin who chaired the Friends committee that did a lot of the leg work. Under his guidance the committee became a very special team to work in

  • That was all underpinned by the tireless Liz Ussher who did an amazing job coordinating, nudging, herding and generally managing this diverse group of busy people.

It's gratifying that at the hearings Commissioner Sullivan complemented the FMW Group on the level of coordination and quality of input. In the report they repeatedly referenced FMW’s evidence as valuable and credible contributions to their understanding of environmental and social risks.

Everyone on this mailing list can take pride in the result, especially those many of you who contributed financially. Here I want to highlight the role Peter Paterson played: at the point we were out of money and were debating whether we could take Sally on, Peter underwrote the gap between what we'd raised and what her time would cost. He wrote out a big cheque that made it possible to engage Sally, and that was absolutely vital.

The FMW Committee considered responding to the press statement from the Trust complaining about the colossal waste of time (we agree on that), but we decided that we would elect to bask in the win. We'll having some basking drinks to celebrate, and then perhaps the conversation will turn to what's next for Mapua's beautiful Waterfront Park.

Many thanks to you all - good job well done.