ECan port plan under scrutiny
The decision to allow reclamation should be deferred until the [coal] demand can be more readily forecast.
Plans for a new container terminal at Lyttelton Port have criticised at public hearings, with the Green Party calling environmental studies ‘‘superficial’’.
A proposal to utilise an additional 27 hectares of reclaimed land at Te Awaparahi Bay – in addition to the 10ha already under construction – is among the most contentious aspects of Environment Canterbury’s (ECan) preliminary draft of the Lyttelton Port Recovery Plan.
Six days of public hearings started yesterday, with the reclamation project and the potential construction of a new berth for cruise liners attracting significant scrutiny.
Should the reclamation eventually be approved, work could begin in mid-2016. An ECan report predicted the terminal would be complete in 2024.
Although ECan insists the impact of additional reclamation on sedimentation and tidal currents would be minor or manageable, its analysis has been questioned, notably by the Green Party.
In a summary of its submission, the Green Party described ECan’s audit of sedimentation and current movement studies by Lyttelton Port of Christchurch (LPC) as ‘‘superficial’’. They were concerned it offered ‘‘no reassurance that the effects of reclamation will be minor’’.
The Lyttelton-Mt Herbert Community Board was also worried about the environmental impact of reclamation, while the Lyttelton Community Association doubted whether additional wharf space was necessary.
‘‘Given the large area allocated to coal, and the prospect of the coal business being seriously curtailed, the decision to allow reclamation should be deferred until the demand can be more readily forecast, and the status of coal mining is clarified,’’ the association’s submission said.
Diamond Harbour resident Jan Eveleens was critical of the container terminal’s proposed location next to the existing Cashin Quay.
Eveleens said easterly swells already caused problems with vessels surging along Cashin Quay and the new container berths would be totally exposed to the incoming swells.
The draft plan’s provision for a cruise berth was generally welcomed from an economic standpoint, although LPC’s preferred location for the development at Naval Point met resistance. In its sub- mission, the Lyttelton-Mt Herbert Community Board supported the return of cruise ships but argued Naval Point was too far from the town centre.
Residents Alastair Brown and Frances Young said cruise ships should berth at Gladstone Pier in the inner harbour. ‘‘There is an ethical responsibility to reinstate tourism opportunities for Lyttelton township, Christchurch City, Canterbury and South Island-wide back to the levels enjoyed prior to the earthquakes,’’ they submitted.
The LPC’s intended commercial redevelopment of Dampier Bay, including the establishment of a 200-berth marina, was greeted with widespread approval.
The repair, rebuild or demolition of wharves and other structures in the inner harbour is also incorporated in the draft, although many of the wharves predate 1900 and are protected by the Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Act.
Permission needs to be granted by Heritage New Zealand.
ECan’s preliminary draft was released in April and attracted 277 submissions. About 50 individuals and organisations are scheduled to appear before a three-member panel chaired by High Court Justice Sir Graham Panckhurst.
The panel makes recommendations to ECan, which then revises the draft before presenting it to Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee in mid-August.