Foreshore food plan foiled

shipping container restaurant on a ‘‘generally unused and bare’’ area by the Picton Community Museum.

Proposed for the tapas-style menu was ‘‘wild food’’ – like pork, goat, venison and rabbit – paired with native vegetables and local beverages.

‘‘Our idea was an attempt to create a market for free-range and organic meat which, in a way, would [have] put a bounty on the head of what New Zealand is classing as a pest, and perhaps offer a better way of eradication than poison,’’ they said.

The ‘‘100 per cent eco-friendly’’ set up would have included recyclable or bio-degradable items, a compost site, and outdoor games. It would have run over summer months to provide cruise ship passengers with an alternative to the current ‘‘limited options’’, the couple said.

‘‘We have seen that often when cruise ships are in town, food businesses can barely keep up and can only accommodate a fixed number of people, leaving many out of options to buy a meal in a timely manner.’’

The couple said they reached out to council staff to uncover why their application was declined in September but were told the reasons could not be disclosed. The pair came forward after a council spokesman told media last month that restaurants were not a permitted activity on the Picton foreshore.

‘‘The only commercial leases permitted [on the foreshore] currently are those which complement the open, reserve experience,’’ the spokesman said.

‘‘The foreshore is one of Marlborough’s special open spaces to be preserved and enhanced to ensure its enjoyment for future generations.’’

But Suleiman said preservation should not come at the cost of growth. ‘‘When I left Picton years ago, I thought to myself: I look forward to seeing what the future will bring to this place; but, in that time, very little has changed,’’ he said.

‘‘I understand the desire to keep Marlborough untouched and [in] its natural glory, and I also support this notion. However, where there is demand, there should be supply.’’

While Marlborough was a magical place, its townships ‘‘sadly’’ lacked substance and ‘‘the wow factor’’, the couple said.

Icecream store owner Ashley Mclean, from Picton’s SCOOP, said she thought competition helped the market. ‘‘Also, as a consumer, I am sick of my food options in Picton. There are only two places to eat out at. Picton is getting bigger and bigger, and growing as a town. We [food businesses] need to grow with it.’’

Allan Scott Wines chief executive Josh Scott said he felt the foreshore needed something ‘‘exciting’’, like the container restaurant.