Damaged wharf may sink businesses

By John Cousins
Three Tauranga fishing charter operators could be forced out of business by a city council order to close a section of Coronation Pier.
The skippers have until September 9 to find alternative berths for their boats because of safety concerns caused by a piece of corroded concrete deck under the seaward section of the pier.
"We have been treated fairly shabbily," Deep Star skipper Garth Le Lievre told the Bay of Plenty Times.
He has operated on the pier for 14 years.
Mr Le Lievre disputed that the corrosion warranted such drastic action. There were two layers of reinforced concrete and the bottom layer was completely exposed.
Their only alternative appeared to be the Harbour Bridge Marina but he said this was not an option after June's storm exposed the vulnerability of the marina to heavy boats breaking loose.
Public access is limited to 10 people at a time on the jetty and there are bans on heavy cargo and machinery.
The charter operators first learned that their livelihoods were under threat at a meeting with council property staff on August 7.
Mr Le Lievre said they were told to get off straight away but they managed to gain another month.
"I have never seen the council move so fast in all my life."
The charter operators believe the pier had another 15 years of life before anything as drastic as a closure was needed. There was nothing in the corrosion that warranted such a reaction, he said.
Mr Le Lievre said it was a matter of repairing the corroded deck - as the council had done to another end section of the pier about five years ago.
"We are hoping common sense will prevail."
Mayor Stuart Crosby said severe deterioration was identified in a 2001 report and then a few weeks ago, consultant engineers did a further visual inspection.
It showed that the slabs of concrete had moved and some of the concrete piers which held them together had deteriorated very badly.
"It is a severe hazard, irrespective of what they say."
Mr Crosby said it was possible the charter boats could remain because they were moored on stand-alone poles but it would need a safer pier to load and unload.
He agreed with Mr Le Lievre that this would create operational problems for the charter operators.
Another option being considered by the council was putting a cantilevered boardwalk over the damaged section of decking.
The council wants to completely rebuild the pier but this depended on how much commercial interest could be attracted to help cover costs. The pier's future was also linked with the proposed waterfront museum which has been thrown into doubt by the council's decision to hold referendum on whether it should be built.
The other charter boats were Sea Prophet and Tim Olsen's boat, The Enterprise.
Another pier charter operator who did not want to be named said that all the council had to do was repair the corroded section of the deck.
"You would think they would maintain what they've got. It is only a bit of concrete and steel.
"It would not take that long to fix," he said.