Update: Rangitane Maritime Project

We recently expressed our views and concerns to Councillor Ann Court about the recent decision by Council to not reinstate support for the Rangitane Maritime Development. We support a transparent process that considers a balanced community perspective. We believe that this will not have occurred if Council does not recommit their support and allow the proper resource consent process to continue.  

Data collected from our community consultations with over 1200 Kerikeri residents suggested there is strong community support for improved access to the coastline and water around Kerikeri. Despite having a large amount of coastline, Kerikeri has few places where residents can enjoy time together next to the water. Limited access via boat ramps and beach access were primary concerns. We also heard that improved public areas with connectivity to the water was important. Picnic reserves and places where families can enjoy time together next to the water were specifically mentioned.

A recent independent study of the capacity of Far North boat ramps to service our communities concludes “that demand is clearly higher than supply”. A link to the boat ramp study report is attached - https://www.fndc.govt.nz/Your-council/Performance-transparency/Performance-reports/Infrastructure-and-Asset-Management-Team/202111-Far-North-Boat-Ramp-Study

Our Kerikeri Community Charitable Trust does not offer a specific opinion on the Rangitane Maritime Project. We do have significant concerns that proper process should be followed. The alternative provides a slippery slope for future decisions to be made that are not in the best interest of the wider community.

As advocates for the Kerikeri community, we would like to see more transparency and less politics around decision processes that affect the support for projects in our community. We believe this would lead to better outcomes for our community. In this case, if support had been recommitted, we understand that proper consent processes would still need to be followed under the RMA for final approval, of which we support and understand. If there are concerns about the impacts of the project, whether environmental, cultural, or otherwise, then these should surface during the normal processes of the application and through the hearing process. Afterall, the process involves being reviewed and discussed in a public hearing before an expert panel and offers opportunities for mitigation of concerns raised. This would seem a much fairer, un-biased approach which offers greater public visibility into the final decision than has taken place on this occasion. The result would reflect a more balanced community perspective and all parties would have to respect the findings, decision and resulting outcome.

We believe the people of Kerikeri deserve nothing less.  We understand and appreciate that not every decision made is going to have 100% support, nor will decisions only ever have a positive side.  We believe proper due process should continue so that the best informed decision can be made, whichever side that decision falls on.