Graham Duncan of Ahuriri Hot Pools Development Trust and the trust's plans for rock pools on Ahuriri Beach.
A Hawke’s Bay man pushing to transform Ahuriri Beach into a ticketed outdoor rock pool complex says a feasibility study has confirmed the project could work, but the public would likely need to stump up for a quarter of its cost.
Four years ago, the Ahuriri Rock Pools Development Trust announced plans to transform the shoreline along Hardinge Rd with a six-lane 50m Olympic-sized swimming pool and a shallow 25m bean-shaped pool for senior citizens and children.
Both pools were to be filled with salt water, naturally heated, ticketed and open all year round.
The development was initially submitted by the trust to Napier City Council in 2021 as part of the council’s Long Term Plan consultation process.
The council in 2022 granted $70,000 to the trust to go towards a feasibility study.
The feasibility report on the development was finished on Friday and the trust will present to Napier City Council on Thursday as part of the Future Napier Committee.
Trust chairman Graham Duncan said the study had “come up really well” but couldn’t be shared in full with Hawke’s Bay Today at present due to its commercial sensitivity.
“I’m delighted with the document.”
The projected cost for the development is currently $20m.
Duncan said the development would not be put to the newly formed Napier Citizens’ Assembly as a potential replacement for the city’s aquatic centre.
However, he said the trust would be asking Napier City Council and Hawke’s Bay Regional Council for $2.5m each – $5m total – to build it, with the rest of the money “coming from outside”.
Duncan has received letters of support from Hawke’s Bay Tourism CEO Hamish Saxton and former Napier MP Stuart Nash for the project.
He said the pools would be encircled by 80,000 tonnes of rock from Haumoana, which would create walkways into the water of Ahuriri and provide a sheltered swimming spot in the bay.
He claimed the water inside the pools could be heated up to 43C by using natural tectonic processes that existed on the nearby Napier fault line and said wells had been dug that had proved it could work.
A regional council spokesperson said they had records of more than 4000 wells drilled across the Heretaunga Plains and none had reported geothermal water, or naturally heated water from deep within the earth.
“On this basis, it is highly unlikely that natural geothermal water exists at or near the proposed rock pool site,” the spokesperson said.
“However, if evidence were ever found, it would make a wonderful natural resource for Napier.”
Duncan said the rock walls had been designed to protect the beach and were created and designed using historic tide data and coastal movements going back 10 years.
He said if the pools, rock walls, or some form of erosion control wasn’t introduced to the area, there could be consequences.
“If we don’t have this, in eight to 10 years’ time we won’t have a beach,” Duncan said.
“That’s the predication of the tidal movements.”
As part of the development, there would also be a high-density fountain with a laser projector, similar to the one in Wellington’s Oriental Parade installed in the bay.
Duncan said Ahuriri’s would be triple the size and include moving images in its projections.
“The whole area will be lit up from that,” he said.
“If you’re up on Napier Hill and you look down to Ahuriri, you’d see all this amazing light.”
There will also be terraced seating by the pools, an observation deck installed at the current Boardwalk Beach Bar and Bistro building, a new information centre near Perfume Point, a ticketing kiosk, and 1000 tonnes of gold sand shipped up from Nelson as part of the project.
He said the project was the brainchild of former Napier City councillor Ivan Wilson, and first obtained approval from the Napier City Reserves manager in 1995.
However, Wilson passed away two weeks into the building process, and there was no one to carry on the project.
Duncan said he would create a monument to the man as part of the development.
What do Napier’s Mayoral candidates think?
Kirsten Wise: I support the Ahuriri Rock Pools Development, subject to the outcome of the feasibility study the trust has undertaken and funding being secured from sources other than council.
Richard McGrath: If constructed, it would give our community a safe sandy beach to swim at and provide visiting families the same. Personally, I think it’s a great community project. I’d support a smaller toned-down plan where the lane pool was removed. Noting that we already have to protect the shoreline with rocks, basically reshaping the rocks could have huge benefits for the community. I would be interested to see what community support it gets.
Nigel Simpson: The Rock Pools as a public amenity would be a great facility for our coast, provided the trust behind this concept can provide assurance that there will be no burden on ratepayers. While it’s great that members of our community are promoting this concept, in the current climate with the fiscal constraints, I wouldn’t support a proposal to fund the project in council’s Long Term Plan. The main issue public rock pools like these experience is the continuous risk of algae forming and the walking surfaces, particularly disabled access ramps, becoming extremely dangerous to walk on. The Newcastle rock pools in New South Wales are shut for a day each week for cleaning.
Jack Riddell is a multimedia journalist with Hawke’s Bay Today and has worked in radio and media in Auckland, London, Berlin, and Napier.