Heather Shotter: Harbour study must be an in depth one

After taking 22 weeks to work out who is doing the work and what will be measured, only 20 weeks remain for the Auckland ports study. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Opinion

Council's timetable very tight for one of the most significant long-term issues facing the Auckland region.

Having put the brakes on further expansion into the Waitemata Harbour on April 1, Auckland Council's future port study is now underway, with far less fanfare than previous arguments have generated about the best use of this land.

While this project will not necessarily feed chatter around the office water cooler like the Sky Path or a whitewater rafting facility, it is a critical piece of work that will define the face of our city for future generations.

Because of the port's physical scale, it has significant effects on the Auckland waterfront which is under pressure to be repurposed in keeping with the spectacular harbour and gulf it occupies. The port has around 77ha of waterfront space in the CBD and is seen by many to have become a relic of an industrial past, better handled elsewhere without additional cost to Auckland.

Latest projections from Statistics New Zealand show the Auckland regional population will grow by between 500,000 and 900,000 people over the next 30 years, with corresponding implications for land use. Under Auckland's Unitary Plan intensification will be encouraged. An increasing number of people will live in relatively close proximity to the downtown waterfront.

A host of local resources will be needed - hotels, shops, office and commercial buildings, residential developments, schools, parks, community facilities and tourism attractions to meet Auckland's needs as a rapidly growing city and New Zealand's only globally significant city.

Heated debate within the media and public assemblies over the past 12 months has emphasised that Auckland has a choice about the port's future location, its scale and focus of activity, and the available service options. A robust study of all benefits and costs of alternative scenarios for the port (including remaining in downtown Auckland) is needed to enable Aucklanders to understand the trade-offs involved.

The increasing opportunity cost is why the issue needs to be resolved now. World-leading cities such as Sydney and London addressed these challenges years ago and have been able to monetise their redeveloped marine assets from increased domestic spending and tourism activity.

The Committee for Auckland has been concerned that all considerations of the Auckland waterfront to date have not been comprehensive in their potential scope and the committee urges the council to consider the waterfront as extending from Westhaven to Ladies Bay (St Heliers) so that all options and opportunities are addressed.

Many opponents of the port's expansion have questioned the validity of having the scenic vista from the city to North Head marred by cars, cranes and shipping containers. Long-term analysis needs to be undertaken on whether some or all of the port's operations should be relocated elsewhere in the Auckland region, or outsourced to other existing ports.

The study needs to calculate the effects of putting downtown waterfront land to alternative uses. These include environment, health, and safety effects associated with port facilities, recreational use of the Waitemata Harbour and waterfront area; along with assessing effects from any change in competition between seaports and shipping services.

So where are we at?

The port study began in July with an independently facilitated stakeholder discussion to map the process. A stakeholder reference group from a variety of sectors was confirmed as a selection pool for a consensus working group. The consensus working group will finalise and agree on the study's scope.

The proposed time for process establishment and structure finalisation, scope finalisation and procurement process for the study is 22 weeks. Your average Aucklander might think it unbelievable that it would take so long just to work out who is doing the work and what will be measured. But what seems even more concerning is that just 20 more weeks have been allocated to conduct the actual study.

With so much riding on how Auckland best uses 77ha of prime waterfront land, we encourage the council not to sacrifice due diligence for expediency and ensure the study itself is not compromised by a tight timeframe or political expediency. The use of the port land is one of the most significant long-term issues facing our region and has the potential to be transformational, as it has been in many international cities.

Our growing community needs developable land for residential purposes and recreational use close to the city. The redevelopment of the waterfront could play a significant role in meeting that demand.

We have this opportunity to realise a world of possibility. Let's make sure we give our city's current and future residents meaningful research that inspires informed choices and delivers the waterfront they deserve.

Heather Shotter is the executive director of the Committee for Auckland.