A $10,000 barrier arm has been installed at Whitianga Wharf and options for a multi-million-dollar waterfront redevelopment proposal have been made public.

Thames-Coromandel District Council has released six concept plans for the redevelopment project.

Costs and timelines are yet to be determined in what looks set to be a multimillion-dollar project.

Council parks and open spaces manager Derek Thompson said it is proposed for the barrier to remain at the same location despite the redevelopment project entering public consultation.

The concept plans had been broken into three avenues: improvements to marine structures, improvements to the waterfront area and improvements to the Robinson Rd boat ramp area.

The installation of the barrier arm at the popular summer destination comes at the same time the council confirmed a new $15 million commercial wharf and floating pontoon in Thames will stay closed to the public despite outcries from residents over why the gates to it remain locked.

Thames-Coromandel District Council (TCDC) has opted to maintain access restrictions after it agreed to undertake a feasibility study on providing pedestrian access to the Kopu Marine Servicing and Business Precinct.

Thompson said the council had asked a marine specialist to look at harbour operations around the Coromandel Peninsula, and one of the top recommendations was to control vehicle access onto Whitianga Wharf.

The new barrier arm on Whitianga Wharf.

The barrier arm would control vehicle movements on to the wharf allowing the council to provide access to approved users only.

“It was frustrating and dangerous for approved users to have to manage their access among vehicles owned by the general public,” Thompson said.

“Additionally, members of the public had been dumping rubbish on the wharf from vehicles driven onto the wharf; with vehicle access restrictions in place, these issues should now cease.”

He said a reduction of traffic on the wharf would help with increasing the life span and integrity of the structure.

The 6-metre vehicle barrier arm is operated via approved access cards or a pass code and was installed on December 9.

Before installing the barrier arm, council staff provided access cards to existing users of the commercial side of the wharf.

Pedestrian access was still available.

Approved wharf users, mostly commercial operators, emergency services, some contractors and staff would have access.

Whitianga residents were called on last month to have their say on how best to improve the town’s wharf, waterfront and boating ramp areas.

Feedback recently closed on concepts for the project after a series of drop-in information sessions and surveys.

Consultation on the project began on November 21 and closed December 18.

A total of 231 surveys were completed and these are now being collated.

Initial analysis of the feedback shows most respondents supported retaining the esplanade playground (184) compared to the other option of relocating it to Taylor’s Mistake and creating more car and boat trailer parking in its place (37).

A proposed design of creating a new public pier also received strong support (95) compared to the other option of extending the existing pier (41).

The options for Robinson Rd Reserve and boat ramp were closer.

More people supported an upgrade that didn’t allow for overflow parking at Hilton Reserve (72) compared to those who opted for the overflow (67).

A number of respondents did not choose either answer, opting for “Other” (51) or “I don’t know” (29) instead.

Usage of the passenger ferry was listed by most respondents (152) as their primary top five reason for using the areas. This was followed by walking/jogging/running (142), waterfront events (104), playground (99) and recreational trailer boating (75).

Of all respondents, most were aged over 65 (54), 55-64 (28), or 45-54 (18) and most respondents used the areas monthly (45) or weekly (30).

The concept plans were created after several meetings with waterfront user groups.

The survey sought feedback from the wider community about what it most preferred for the Esplanade and Robinson Rd Reserve areas.

The feedback would be given to the project’s advisory committee which will present the findings at a Council meeting early next year and then help guide the council’s eventual decision-making process.

Concept one feature a new public pier.

The first redevelopment concept for the Whitianga waterfront would see a new public pier, with the existing wharf dedicated to fishing activities.

Concept two would see the existing wharf expanded to create separate public/commercial use.

Concept three would see a multi-use open space, with the creation of a reinforced grassed area for boat trailer parking and events. Concept four would see the waterfront playground relocated to nearby Taylors Mistake and the area used for boat trailer parking and events.

The second concept features an expanded wharf to create separate commercial/public space.

Concept five would see an upgrade of the Robinson Rd boat ramp and trailer parking improvements, while concept six would also feature a new jetty and pontoon.

The project was first included in the council’s 2018-2028 Long Term Plan (LTP) with a capital budget of $7 million anticipated over two years across 2023/24 and 2024/25.

In the 2021-2031 LTP, the capital budget was increased to $12m and the timing pushed out to three years between 2027/28 and 2029/30.

In the current 2024-2034 LTP, the budget and timing remain the same.

The council said the proposed changes would address long-standing safety issues regarding multiple users being in a limited space and allow for growth in activity.

The Mercury Bay Community Board had identified the need for community engagement, which was the main driver for stage one of the project, as buy-in from the stakeholders and wider community was required for its success.

Over the last few months, the council had been having discussions with a range of waterfront users and businesses to listen to their needs in the early stages of exploring options for the Esplanade redevelopment.

Those meetings had been exploratory, in order to work out what the viable options to take to the wider community for feedback might be.

Discussions had included the Mercury Bay Business Association, and there had been ongoing conversations with members of user focus groups.

-Waikato Herald