‘Minimal impact’ from new shipping facility

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Plans to build a marine access facility west of Te Araroa have progressed with the release of cultural, environmental and commercial impact assessment reports showing minimal impacts to mitigate.

That latest update came to the community through a Zoom hui last Friday, held in preference to a face-to-face meeting due to the rise in Covid cases in Te Araroa.

Te Araroa Kāhui Kupenga Marine Access Facility Working Group is seeking to gain resource consent by June 30, 2023, to build the facility for commercial and recreational purposes by 2026.

Working group secretary Tiwana Tibble said interested parties heard the results of independent consultants' reports including that of marine ecologist Bryony Miller.

Her report into the marine ecology of the area — which included scuba dives within and outside the proposed area, research dredge drags and a video — concluded the area was a dynamic environment and not a place for shellfish beds.

No reefs were close to the proposed area.

“The area in and around the rock wall structures — to be built as part of the proposed development — is presently like a desert, though fish do swim through,” Mr Tibble said.

“Our ecologist also explained that the new structures will increase the biodiversity, encourage species like kina and mussels, and see them thrive. Our plan involves creating a pathway over the rock walls for recreational fishing.”

Supply chain consultant Ray Mudgway forecasts a significant reduction of log truck traffic from the north travelling on SH35 south of Ruatoria.

“Truck job numbers are expected to remain the same as rerouting will mean multiple and shorter routes, compared to the current day-long route to Gisborne with an empty return. In addition, currently uneconomic forest blocks within 45km of Te Araroa will become more commercially viable with a lesser road truck cartage cost.”

Mr Mudgway is also a spokesman for Aotearoa Shipping Alliance, which is planning to deliver coastal barging services across East Coast, West Coast and Taranaki.

The alliance is made up of West Coast-based Ngāti Waewae and Westland Minerals Sands Co, along with Taranaki-based Tainui Kawhia Incorporation and Te Araroa-based Te Rimu Trust.

Dr Roy Hoerara presented a cultural impact assessment report, analysing key potential issues arising from previous reports, in the media, by people challenging the proposal and those noted by environmental specialists Tonkin and Taylor. Some 35 of the 39 issues identified were seen to be avoidable or insignificant. Yet to be completed in the New Year is an Memorandum of Understanding with the Takutaimoana Trust. A local community protocol will be followed should artefacts or koiwi be discovered during construction.

Enhancement opportunities identified included acknowledging the area's rich ancestral history through a memorial or storyboard, and facilitating greater access for cultural purposes to the coast such as a walking or riding pathway to Te Araroa.

A governance structure similar to the Eastland Group/Tairāwhiti Trust structure is envisioned as a way to distribute community grants from the facility's surplus earnings.

The full reports and video presentations, including archaeology, cultural and environmental impact assessments, will be available at www.takk.co.nz from December 24.