Posted: 08 March 2007
Regional Council approves extension to Hokianga wharves
Resource consent has been granted to extend the wharves at Kohukohu and The Narrows in the upper Hokianga Harbour.
The Northland Regional Council yesterday (Wednesday 7 March) granted Far North Holdings Limited the necessary consents to carry out the wharf extensions – for a period of 20 years.
Three submissions were received against the proposal, with the applicant and two of them being heard by a two-member Hearings Committee in Opua on 15 February 2007.
The main concern of the two submitters was the removal and non-replacement of the pontoon and walkway at The Narrows.
Far North Holdings Ltd has removed the pontoon and gangway from The Narrows wharf due to public safety issues, which is a permitted activity under the Regional Coastal Plan for Northland.
The consent application sought the replacement and enlargement of the pontoon and gangway at the Kohukohu Wharf, and the extension of the existing wharf at The Narrows.
Even though the Hearings Committee may have empathised with the submitters, it had no authority to require Far North Holdings Ltd to replace the removed pontoon at The Narrows.
The environmental effects of the application have been assessed as being no more than minor.
The Hearings Committee commented that “the conditions of consent address, and meet some of, the concerns expressed and negotiated at the pre-hearing meetings and have been specified in order to avoid, remedy or mitigate adverse effects that may result.”
The applicant and submitter now have three weeks in which to lodge any appeals to the Environment Court.