Plans for the huge new dry stack building at Bayswater Marina on the North Shore. Photo / Paul Brown & Associates
Plans for the huge new dry stack building at Bayswater Marina on the North Shore. Photo / Paul Brown & Associates
A new four-level 156-boat storage dry stack is planned for the North Shore’s Bayswater Marina on land beside a consented but yet-to-be-built $300 million scheme for 78 new terrace houses and apartments.
Simon and Paula Herbert’s Bayswater Marina Holdings wants Auckland Council to allow non-notified resource consent forthe new building to store 156 trailer boats up to 12m long.
Simon Herbert, managing director, said such storage was needed and the dry stack and other marine uses are permitted activities under the Auckland Unitary Plan.
Plans for the Bayswater Marina land with the new dark-coloured dry stack building in the centre. Photo / Paul Brown & Associates
“But this will also support the local economy by attracting more boating enthusiasts and associated businesses to the area.”
Marine-related retail and commercial service spaces for marina users and the broader community were also planned.
“This development reflects our ongoing commitment to transforming the precinct into a world-class hub, blending residential, commercial, and recreational spaces, within the transport hub that the seven-minute ferry ride to the CBD and bus services to the site provides,” Herbert said.
Paula and Simon Herbert with their super yacht H at Cannes Film Festival. Photo / Instagram
Bayswater Marina Holdings’ application for consent and assessment of environmental effects for the new dry stack cites consent already issued for:
78 dwellings (60 terraced dwellings, 18 apartments in two buildings);
615sq m non-residential floor space including a ferry waiting room;
88sq m berth holder facilities;
332 car parks (310 berth holder and 22 visitor spaces);
20 car and boat trailer parks;
7850sq m of public open space;
Associated earthworks, landscaping and infrastructure provision;
A unit title subdivision to create principal units, common areas and an esplanade strip;
An area set aside for boat storage.
Bayswater Marina Holdings' plans for the site.
The dry stack is to be 14.7m high from the ground level.
A saw-too roof is to be “a design feature aimed at improving the architectural and urban design appearance and outcome of the building as opposed to a flat roofline with no architectural or urban design merit”, the application says.
All up, 19 pōhutukawa trees will be removed, to be mitigated by planting a large new pōhutukawa.
Paul Glass wants plans to be notified so people can have their say.
Bayswater Marina berth holder Paul Glass wants the dry stack application notified so people can have a say.
The Herberts had not consulted with the Bayswater Community Committee, Bayswater Berth Holders Association or Takapuna Grammar School Rowing Club, he said.
This was also when an integral part of the proposal included use of a public structure which is the boat ramp, he said.
Glass wants people to contact the council, seeking the plans be notified.
“There are also many questions as to how a large covered boat storage facility will logistically operate in this location where there is limited to no access to the coastal marine area. There is also concern as to what commercial services means and what this will cover in this application,” Glass said.
Earlier this decade, the Herald reported on how parties including the berth holders opposed the $300m residential development, saying the land should remain fallow for future demand for marine services, but specifically for boat storage and other boat-related activities.
“The proposed residential development conflicts with, and limits the operation of marina activities and other marine-related activities,” a submission to the council in November 2021 said.
Kitt Littlejohn says the dry stack will contribute positively to the area. Photo / Michael Craig
Kitt Littlejohn, barrister for the marina business, said today: “The dry stack facility, and the associated marine uses are permitted activities at Bayswater Marina under the Auckland Unitary Plan and will positively contribute to the urban development of the site, with only the building needing consent.”
Herbert says notification is unnecessary.
“The resource consent application is currently under review by Auckland Council, and given the alignment with the Unitary Plan, public notification is not expected,” Herbert said.
The building will be powered entirely by renewable energy, minimising its carbon footprint. It will utilise state-of-the-art electric lifting machinery with low noise output, reducing both environmental impact and disruption to the surrounding community, Herbert said.
Energy-efficient lighting, solar power generation and water conservation systems are also planned in the building designed by Paul Brown & Associates.
The council is yet to decide on notification.
Anne Gibson has been the Herald’s property editor for 25 years, written books and covered property extensively here and overseas.
