Powerful neighbours rally behind new Herne Bay boatshed

How the proposed new boatshed at the Herne Bay property is planned to look. Photo / Application to Auckland Council

Powerful neighbours in New Zealand’s wealthiest suburb are rallying behind a new boatshed planned to rise in front of a $22 million house, with insurance, funds management, supermarket, fitness, early childhood, motor vehicle and travel sector company chiefs writing submissions in favour of the scheme.

That stately Herne Bay weatherboard mansion was once owned by the Sultan of Brunei and also 42 Below Vodka’s Geoff and Justine Ross.

But now a company which owns the property, ILowa Ltd, has applied to build the boatshed in the central Auckland suburb. That property’s effective owner is not identified but is believed to be an IT entrepreneur.

8 Wairangi St in Herne Bay is the focus of a boatshed bid.

His new boatshed is to be 15m long by 8m wide, about 4.5m high, have a 120sq m area and will be supported by 17 concrete piles sunk into the seabed. Because of the scheme’s features which include pouring concrete piles into the seabed area, Auckland Council notified the application so people could have their say up until June 13.

And the neighbours said they wanted it.

Insurer Crombie Lockwood’s co-founder Steve Lockwood, Fisher Funds’ chief operating officer Nilesh Mistry, supermarket entrepreneur Glenn Cotterill, fitness chain chief Phillip Mills, early childhood centre owner Ben Hurst, European car dealership owner Max Fletcher, travel entrepreneur Andrew Bagnall, construction chief William Lindesay and others have thrown their weight behind the proposal in Wairangi St.

Lockwood said the small bay or pocket was not somewhere he went or would seek to go for recreation so he backed the boatshed application.

“I do not think it would attract public use given it is so small, tidal, muddy, rocky and covered in sharp shells. It is not somewhere people could sit or play. There is no beach at high tide. I would also note it’s a very shaded small bay due to the tress and small size, therefore not sunny,” said Lockwood.

The bay was also impossible to access unless it was swum to or people trespassed through private property to get there. Boatsheds were a feature of the area, part of its character and heritage, adding to the coastal and marine landscape.

The design of the proposed boatshed was respectful of that heritage and in keeping with the wider area, Lockwood said. As well, there once was a boatshed at this property so it should get approval.

8 Wairangi St once had its own boatshed so planners say the proposal is reinstating what was once there. Photo / Auckland Council historic archive

Nilesh Mistry, Fisher Funds’ COO, said a boatshed was at the property he had lived at for the past 14 years. His place was less than five minutes from the applicant’s site. Boatsheds were a common feature of the landscape and added character to it.

Multimillionaire Glenn Cotterill - nicknamed “The Grocer” for his success in supermarkets - said the pocket bay wasn’t used by the public and was not desirable for swimming, sunbathing or walking. There were many betters bays and beaches in the immediate area and the proposal was in keeping with the area.

Fitness advocate and gym chain owner Phillip Mills said he didn’t use the pocket bay and wasn’t even aware of its existence until now. The bay didn’t seem particularly inviting or possible to access so it didn’t impact him or wharf users. He was pleased to see the proposed shed was not ultra modern but instead used natural timber and colours. Consideration had also been given to the piling process to reduce the impact on the coast.

Mills told the Herald this week he thought the owner was doing the right thing: “[He] has strong environmental consciousness. He assured me he would do this with minimal environmental impact and some improvements.”

Ben Hurst of early childhood business ECL Group said he had lived in the area for more than eight years and supported the application because it would have no impact on him or the public. The boatshed’s proposed location was perfect. It was inaccessible by foot and he never knew the beach existed until the application was made.

Consultants were engaged to sit in this chair beneath 8 Wairangi St and watch if the bay was accessed. Only one swimmer came ashore during observations on two Saturdays last March. Photo / Auckland Council application

Max Fletcher of European car specialists The Toy Shop Cars said he had lived in Herne Bay for more than a decade and was happy to support the proposal.

“The boat shed will hardly be visible from the land. From the sea, they are a feature of the landscape and done right, add to the character that makes Herne Bay unique,” Fletcher said.

Andrew Bagnall, a racing car driver who established Gulliver’s Travel Group, said he had lived in the area for more than 20 years and the boatshed proposal was “well-researched, consistent with the area. The design included in the consent pack looks great”.

William Lindesay of high-end builders Lindesay Construction said the boatshed’s design was sympathetic to the surrounding landscape. The bay was not heavily used and he sought for the application to be approved.

The Herne Bay Residents’ Association’s Dirk Hudig and Don Mathieson oppose the boatshed as “a massive thing” that will dominate the wee public bay, its foreshore and the Herne Bay coast with its bulk and extensive ramp leading well into the tide.

The shed looks to be twice as wide as the smaller one on the next point, they said.

The shed combined with its slipway would be the longest seen in the area and likely a navigation hazard at many tide levels, certainly public access to the harbour and foreshore would be restricted, they said.

Allowing the shed to be built would privatise public land, Hudig and Mathieson complained.

The proposal appeared to breach the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park Art 2000 which gives special status to the area, including Herne Bay’s foreshore as a resource to contribute to the enjoyment of the area for people and communities, they said.

Anne Gibson has been the Herald’s property editor for 23 years, having won many awards, written books and covered property extensively here and overseas.