Push for Westhaven Cup bases
Council officers told to look at option with best legacy for city after harbour lobby groups outline their ideas
The 2021 America’s Cup syndicates could be based near the home of the Auld Mug at the New Zealand Squadron at Westhaven Yacht Marina.
Under a plan presented to Auckland City councillors, two Waitemata Harbour lobby groups pressed for extending Westhaven Marina and opposed extending Halsey Wharf north of the Viaduct Harbour.
The groups, Stop Stealing Our Harbour and Urban Auckland, said the Halsey Wharf option lacked vision and required a big reclamation.
After the presentation to Auckland Council’s planning committee, mayor Phil Goff asked officials to look at all the proposals to find an option that left the best legacy for the city.
Goff, who supported a campaign last year to oppose wharf extensions into the harbour for port use, could not be reached for comment last night about the Halsey Wharf option.
Planning committee chairman Chris Darby said the space beyond Halsey St Wharf represented a “water park”, saying people had come to treat the water space of the Waitemata Harbour like never before.
Darby said Auckland needed to follow the innovative example of Team NZ and get up on its foils when it came to planning for the Cup.
Many are talking about the America’s Cup as an opportunity to leave a significant legacy.
“We need to undertake a robust location analysis of the spatial needs of the teams in a manner that reflects the approach of Team New Zealand.
“There is just one defence guaranteed and we could be building infrastructure that is not going to serve us well in the future,” Darby said.
He expected councillors to receive a high-level overview of the Cup at a closed-door workshop on waterfront issues next Monday.
Julie Stout, a spokeswoman for Urban Auckland — a group of architects and urban designers — said extending Westhaven Dr was part of the yachting fraternity and a natural home for the syndicates. “It strikes us as a win, win situation,” she said.
The two lobby groups have also produced an alternative plan to spread the syndicates across three sites at Wynyard Quarter.
“Many are talking about the America’s Cup as an opportunity to leave a significant legacy. There is no need to further encroach on the harbour,” said the presentation.
Before Team New Zealand won the Auld Mug in Bermuda, the Herald reported that secret planning was under way to dust off plans for the Halsey Wharf extensions, which had been mooted to provide a sheltered basin for superyachts for about $90 million. Team New Zealand chief operating officer Kevin Shoebridge said it was too early to comment on anything to do with the event.
Team NZ, he said, would like to be involved in talks with the Government and council about planning.
Speaking on TVNZ’s Q&A on Sunday, Economic Development Minister Simon Bridges said the Government was more interested in the infrastructure components of the Cup than sponsorship of Team NZ.
Lobby groups’ presentation