Yealands revives port plans
Marlborough entrepreneur and grape grower Peter Yealands is considering developing a ‘‘pocket port’’ at Clifford Bay to supplement facilities at Picton.
Yealands bought the 413-hectare Clifford Bay site from KiwiRail in 2014 after the Government decided against shifting the South Island ferry terminal there from Picton on cost grounds.
Yealands’ proposal, outlined in a submission on the Marlborough District Council’s environment plan, is for a ‘‘pocket port’’ for exports and interisland road freight, but it would not include rail freight or passenger services.
The submission sought to have the boundaries of the Clifford Bay port zone reduced to reflect the smaller size of the facility envisaged because it said a large scale port replicating Picton was not economically viable.
The submission from Port Clifford Ltd said the pocket port would supplement Picton’s existing shipping facilities and provide a necessary addition to the national and regional infrastructure as demand for port services increased.
According to the Companies Office, Port Clifford Ltd was established in late 2015 for the purposes of land development or subdivision (excluding building construction), and Yealands is listed as its sole director.
The council’s manager of environmental policy, Pere Hawes, said submissions on the plan were due to be heard by a panel of commissioners later this year.
Yealands was reluctant to comment on the port development, saying a media release would be made when the time was right.
He said his interest in the project stemmed from the possibility of barging rock from a quarry on his Clifford Bay property to provide fill for the Wellington Airport runway extension if it went ahead.
‘‘That’s primarily where my interest is, but then little things can lead to bigger things.’’
The runway extension is on hold until a court case over safety issues is settled. A Wellington Airport spokesman said if it proceeded, barging material from Clifford was an option, but it was not currently in the plans.
Clifford Bay has been looked at as an alternative to Picton several times since the 1920s.
A two-year Ministry of Transport investigation found that building a new terminal at Clifford Bay would cut more than 1.5 hours off the journey time from Wellington to Christchurch.
But Transport Minister Gerry Brownlee ruled out siting of a terminal there because revenue available from potential ferry operators and major freight users would only pay for about half the estimated $525 million development cost.
The Government would have to pay the other half and carry the risk. The investigation also found Picton could handle bigger freight volumes over the next 30 years.