A four-year wrangle over plans to build New Zealand's first artificial surf break has been settled.
An Environment Court consent order has cleared the way for the reef to be built at Lyall Bay in Wellington.
But while Lyall Bay Trust chairman Tony Lines is celebrating what he describes as the final
hurdle of a long battle, two women who appealed against the plan but agreed to conditions of the consent claim safety issues have still not been adequately addressed.
Yvonne Weeber and Carol Quirk, both from Lyall Bay, say work on the reef should be delayed while further investigations into its placement and environmental effects were carried out.
Because it would be the first reef to be placed in an enclosed bay, "significant unknowns" were involved.
There needed to be "triggers" in place so that the reef could be removed if erosion happened or if people's safety was compromised, they said.
Mr Lines said the $1.3 million project was on track to be completed by the end of next year, with the start date scheduled to coincide with CentrePort's harbour dredging programme.
"One of the conditions of consent is that the sand we use is the same type, colour and grain size as Lyall Bay. We've got samples from the harbour entrance that are pretty close so we want to be ready to go when they start dredging."
He said the trust was still negotiating a sponsorship deal, worth around $800,000 and expects a further $100,000 from a community trust grant. Wellington City Council has contributed $200,000 for a study and has promised a further $265,000 if the trust can raise $400,000.
- NZPA
Herald Feature: Conservation and Environment
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