Talks to resolve boat ramp dispute after court ruling

An Environment Court judge has ruled against recreational boaties in a long-running dispute over access to a launching site at an estuary north of Nelson.

However, the next step in the Delaware Bay saga will see the Nelson City Council inviting the Delaware Bay Access Group, representing boaties, and iwi Ngāti Tama to a meeting to achieve a “sustainable solution”.

In a decision released last Friday, Judge Prudence Steven found the use of the beach area below high tide at Delaware Bay for vehicles launching recreational boats was not a permitted activity under the Nelson Resource Management Plan, and required a resource consent.

The council had sought a declaration from the court in a bid to resolve the dispute between boaties and local iwi, particularly Ngāti Tama, which opposed vehicle access in an area of great cultural significance.

Attempts over the years to enforce a ban on vehicles driving across the estuary to launch boats have been opposed, and no agreement has been reached.

After the court decision, the Nelson City Council chief executive, Nigel Philpott, said it was a difficult issue and the council wanted “to achieve a sustainable solution that all parties can live with”.

He and mayor Nick Smith would invite representatives of the access group and Ngāti Tama to discuss potential ways forward.

The access group said it was disappointed by the court ruling and was considering an appeal to the High Court.

However, spokesperson Daryl Crimp said its preferred approach had always been direct discussion. The group welcomed the council’s proposed meeting as long as it was a serious attempt to find a solution and not “just a talk fest”.

“We are delighted the council has seen reason and are prepared to sit down and negotiate a way forward,” he said.

Crimp said the group also took heart from the court decision confirming that a launching ramp symbol for Delaware Bay was included in planning maps attached to the resource management plan in 1999.

But the symbol had been deleted by the time the plan became operative in 2006.

The judge said the circumstances of that amendment, and whether it was lawful or not, featured in the case presented by the parties.

However, the issue was irrelevant to the court’s decision, the judge said, because the plan had been approved, and the time for any appeal had long lapsed.

Crimp said the removal of the symbol only emerged during the recent court case, so there had been no opportunity to appeal. The group argued its removal had been unlawful.

Crimp said the group’s greatest concern was that if the council enforced the closure of the Delaware Bay boat ramp, people would have to launch from a Cable Bay site that was prone to dangerous conditions.

The council said the application to the Environment Court had cost $170,000 plus staff time.