Access to Delaware boat ramp discussed

A panel of four representatives from the Nelson boating community will liaise with Nelson City Council on future vehicle access to the Delaware Inlet boat ramp.

NCC Group leader strategy and environment Clare Barton said a Monday night meeting at the Trafalgar Pavillion was very much an information sharing evening based on a report by the Cawthron Institute.

A positive outcome was the suggestion of a working group, involving both landowners and fishing/boating users of the bay to assess options for managing the way Delaware Bay is used in the future, she said.

Regular ramp user and fisherman Harrison Dean attended the meeting and said while the report itself was a fair assessment of the current situation, there had been little progress since an earlier meeting was held last year.

‘‘I think it would be fair to say there is a feeling of defensiveness that something is trying to be taken away from [boaties],’’ Dean said.

‘‘But it was a good positive outcome at the end, in that we were told that everyone was supposedly going to work together, so hopefully that will happen.’’

Dean said fishermen who used the ramp were passionate about the area and wanted to do their part to help preserve it.

‘‘I think that’s what the council seems to be missing – we do care and want to work with everyone to get a positive outcome.’’

His brother Austen, a keen fisherman with a Masters degree in marine conservation, volunteered to be one of the four panellists.

He said the ultimate resolution would be to keep the ramp open with marked routes to reduce damage - something that the panel would possibly look to push for in the coming months.

Since Maori Pa Road was opened to the public in 1999, boaties have been using an informal launching site located near the 353-hectare tidal flats Delaware Inlet estuary, north of Nelson.

In reviewing its coastal plan, the council hoped to include new provisions governing access to the estuary that address the interests and concerns of local Maori, residents and boat users.

The current resource management plan does not allow for vehicle access to beaches and estuaries in the region, meaning that launching a boat at Delaware Inlet is technically illegal, though the council currently chose not to enforce the bylaw.

Nelson City Council commissioned the Cawthron Institute to assess the ecological impact of vehicle traffic on the estuary and the nature and extent of boat usage, views of local residents and local hapu.

The Cawthron report indicated evidence of seagrass disturbance from visible vehicle tracks and inconclusive evidence that vehicle traffic has caused a reduction in the extent of seagrass beds over time.

Following another meeting tonight with local landowners, Barton said the council would be in a better position to establish how the draft plan will incorporate all stakeholder input.