Little Shoal Bay boat yard licence ended

John Gillon from

The Kaipātiki Local Board has formally ended the licence for the boat yard at Wai Manawa / Little Shoal Bay Reserve. The group's final day will be 20 June. The Local Board plan to consult with the public on the future use of this space.
Note: This decision does not affect boats moored in the bay.

Local Park Management Plan (LPMP):
The LSB Boatyard Inc's licence (which had been rolling over monthly since it expired in 2012) had become contrary to the reserve's management intentions when the LPMP was adopted in February.
The LPMP states the following intentions for Little Shoal Bay Reserve: "Discontinue boat maintenance and haulage yard activities on the reserve" and "Repurpose the boat maintenance and haulage yard area to support a greater range of recreation activities".
These intentions stop boatyard activities and were adopted following a robust democratic process with public consultation on all aspects of the reserve.
The LPMP hearing panel heard from LSB Boatyard Inc as well as supporters and opponents of the boat yard. After careful deliberation, the hearing panel concluded that the the activities should cease and recommended that to the Local Board. The Local Board endorsed this when it adopted the LPMP.

Boat Yard Remediation:
As part of the Shoreline Adaptation Plan process to plan for flooding in the reserve, the Local Board requested contamination testing of Little Shoal Bay Reserve following concerns that there was polluted material in the bay. The tests largely came back fine, except for the boat yard area which was found to be contaminated with heavy metals above the Unitary Plan discharge limits; and copper, lead, zinc, TBT and PCB concentrations above the Australian and New Zealand Guidelines for Fresh and Marine Water Quality sediment guidelines. The contaminants are not considered a danger to humans, but could be detrimental to the harbour.
Remediation of the boat yard area should be completed next week, with around 1,000m3 of contaminated material removed to stop it leaching into the harbour (30cm depth over 3,000m2). The area is being reinstated as gravel, but this can be changed in the future depending on the outcome of consultation. The damaged boat ramp has also been repaired as part of the project.