Northern Advocate
  • Northern Advocate home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings

Locations

  • Far North
  • Kaitaia
  • Kaikohe
  • Bay of Islands
  • Whangārei
  • Kaipara
  • Mangawhai
  • Dargaville

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whangārei
  • Dargaville

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Northern Advocate

Controversial $3.7m Kerikeri Inlet reclamation plan on hold

By Peter de Graaf
Reporter·Northern Advocate·
25 Jan, 2022 04:00 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

The existing jetty and single boat ramp at Rangitane, on the northern side of Kerikeri Inlet. The reclamation, if approved, will be built on the right of the ramp in this photo. Photo / Peter de Graaf

The existing jetty and single boat ramp at Rangitane, on the northern side of Kerikeri Inlet. The reclamation, if approved, will be built on the right of the ramp in this photo. Photo / Peter de Graaf

A controversial plan to reclaim part of Kerikeri Inlet and build a new boat ramp has been put on hold while a second cultural impact assessment report is prepared.

The project, at Rangitane on the northern side of the inlet, was granted $2.4 million from the Government's Covid Recovery Fund in 2020, and the Far North District Council was expected to contribute another $1.2m.

It includes a double-width boat ramp, replacing a broken jetty, and reclaiming about 6400sq m of seabed at Rangitane Loop Rd for a parking area with space for 12 cars and 16 boat trailers.

In September last year the project was given the green light to apply for fast-tracked consent under the Covid-19 Recovery Act, allowing it to bypass the time-consuming Resource Management Act process.

A consent decision was to have been made by a Government-appointed expert panel within 45 working days but the process is now on hold.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The Advocate understands local hapū Ngāti Rēhia had already completed a cultural impact assessment (CIA) but a second one from the wider Ngāpuhi iwi is now required.

Sam Napia, chief executive of Te Rūnanga ā iwi ō Ngāpuhi, said the reclamation was a significant proposal.

Under the fast-track process, the CIA was the one safeguard for the interests of tangata whenua in terms of assessing the proposal and its effects on the environment.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

''So it's important that the CIA is completed in accordance with statutory requirements, and in such a manner that it provides the necessary information to the panel to enable them to make an informed decision. That's the material thing. Any concerns anyone might have about who was supposed to write the CIA, that's essentially unimportant. What is important is the proposal and its effect on the environment.''

The existing jetty and single boat ramp at Rangitane, on the northern side of Kerikeri Inlet. Photo / Peter de Graaf
The existing jetty and single boat ramp at Rangitane, on the northern side of Kerikeri Inlet. Photo / Peter de Graaf

According to the Environmental Protection Authority website, the fast-track process for the Rangitane reclamation is currently suspended.

Discover more

Complaint against Northland's Far North Holdings being looked at by Government

02 Nov 04:00 PM

Fast-tracking set for contentious boat ramp, reclamation

13 Sep 05:00 PM

Reclamation plan divides Rangitane community

14 Feb 11:00 PM

Planned $3.7m reclamation, boat ramp to improve water access in Kerikeri

15 Jan 04:00 PM

The suspension had been requested by council-owned company Far North Holdings, which is managing the project, ''to provide an opportunity to engage with and respond to matters raised by Te Rūnanga ā Iwi o Ngāpuhi''.

In a letter to the authority, the rūnanga, through its lawyers, said the fast-track application was ''fatally flawed'' because it failed to include a CIA from the rūnanga, as required under the Act.

Far North Holdings engagement manager Alastair Wells said Government funding for the project was not threatened by the delay.

Shane Jones, who announced the funding when he was Regional Economic Development Minister, said ''Kiwis of all persuasions'' should be able to enjoy the coast and launch a boat.

Rangitane was well-suited for a new marine facility because of its existing infrastructure.
Jones said it was an ''awful outcome'' that Ngāpuhi had put the brakes on the project and hired expensive lawyers to do so.

''I realise some Rangitane residents oppose the project but they don't own the inlet,'' he said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The plan has divided the Rangitane community.

One camp, represented by the Rangitane Residents Association, is concerned about increased traffic, the risk to the area's kiwi population, and lack of future-proofing because of the site's limited space.

The other camp, represented by the Rangitane Recreation Association, says the current boat ramp is unsafe, as is the use of roadsides for parking given the narrow roads and lack of footpaths in the area.

The residents association holds the consent for jetty renewal and wants that part of the project to go ahead, but not the reclamation.

Under fast-track legislation, consent applications don't have to be notified and hearings are at the panel's discretion. The right to appeal consent decisions is also limited. Any consent issued, however, must be consistent with the Treaty of Waitangi.

Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Latest from Northern Advocate

Northern Advocate

News in brief: Sandbox Fandom Festival 2025 returns to Whangārei in July

17 Jun 05:00 PM
Northern Advocate

'A lot of tears': Concerns over changes to post-mortem examinations

17 Jun 05:00 PM
Northern Advocate

'You and cars are a bad mix': Man who hit oncoming motorist high on dangerous levels of meth

17 Jun 04:00 AM

Jono and Ben brew up a tea-fuelled adventure in Sri Lanka

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Northern Advocate

News in brief: Sandbox Fandom Festival 2025 returns to Whangārei in July

News in brief: Sandbox Fandom Festival 2025 returns to Whangārei in July

17 Jun 05:00 PM

The latest news bites from around the region.

'A lot of tears': Concerns over changes to post-mortem examinations

'A lot of tears': Concerns over changes to post-mortem examinations

17 Jun 05:00 PM
'You and cars are a bad mix': Man who hit oncoming motorist high on dangerous levels of meth

'You and cars are a bad mix': Man who hit oncoming motorist high on dangerous levels of meth

17 Jun 04:00 AM
Koru stolen from community leader's grave back with whānau

Koru stolen from community leader's grave back with whānau

17 Jun 03:10 AM
Help for those helping hardest-hit
sponsored

Help for those helping hardest-hit

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • The Northern Advocate e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Northern Advocate
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The Northern Advocate
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP