By Dr Joel Cayford, Auckland Regional Councillor, 30 January 2008
Auckland Anniversary Day is a delightful opportunity to showcase Auckland’s maritime heritage. Vintage tugboats and classic yachts dash about the harbour attracting thousands to the waterfront. But after the big day most of Auckland’s beautiful old boats and yachts are taken away and mothballed, unlike other waterfront cities of the world where they have pride of place at city waterfront moorings and are enjoyed by visitors all year round. Even the maori war canoe race which used to precede the regatta is no more, as waka find homes far from Waitemata Harbour.
The steam tug William C Daldy is one of the few classic boats still clinging to a downtown mooring at the Devonport Wharf. Even this is at risk. It is one of a hundred or so classic boats, lovingly built, restored and maintained by a variety of trusts and societies established by people who care deeply about Auckland’s maritime heritage.
I am not alone in thinking this heritage treasure and Maori waka taonga merits permanent accommodation at Auckland’s waterfront. It is one of the reasons
I believe the newly elected Auckland Regional Council needs to revisit policy decisions made by the previous ARC – without public consultation – that prioritise intensive private development on TankFarm land on Wynyard Point.
As ultimate landowner, the buck stops with the ARC for what happens there. It could decide to allocate land and waterfront space to Auckland’s classic boat industry, as commercial leases fall due. The ARC alone is responsible for approving the Statement of Intent and for appointing the directors of Auckland Regional Holdings (ARH) which purchased title to the land from its previous owner Ports of Auckland. ARC has also approved the establishment of Sea & City Ltd to manage the redevelopment project in accordance with ARC’s vision for that part of Auckland’s waterfront.
Till now, the ARC has an excellent track record of owning and managing Auckland’s fantastic regional park network.. Any private operations on regional parkland – such as coffee kiosks, filming, adventure events – are hard won by commercial operators who need to satisfy carefully set criteria before being permitted to do business on Regional Parks, some of which have been gifted to the ARC, while others have been purchased with public money and then typically cleared of buildings associated with former private uses.
So it is highly unusual that the ARC has decided to allow a large chunk of regionally owned land at Auckland’s waterfront to be developed intensively with high rise private apartments and office blocks, and to permit existing marine and fishing industries to renew their leases and continue their occupation, without any public consultation about other options and uses for that land.
While current plans do provide a four hectare park space at the end of TankFarm, this open area will be “walled off” from the rest of Auckland by highrise apartments whose owners will see the public park as their back lawn. Highrise hotel, commercial and retail developments will dominate the rest of the land, alongside marine and fishing industries which will defend their interests vigorously. This proposed profitable development will deliver significant amenity for Auckland, but the potential is so much greater.
ARC’s vision for the TankFarm waterfront reads well, but the hard commercial policy it hides and which has never been put out for public consultation, is that private development and private activities on the regionally owned waterfront land at Wynyard Point must generate $40 million profit annually. Long-term ARC forecasts indicate this money is needed to meet the growing costs of Auckland public transport.
While I support rapid development and public funding of Auckland passenger transport systems, I don’t believe we should be selling regional silver to do it unless the public agrees. And again, the public have never been asked if they accept a commercially compromised waterfront development at TankFarm in exchange for improved bus, ferry and train services. Or whether they would prefer other ways of pay for public transport.
I believe most would accept some private development at the waterfront to meet the costs of public infrastructure, like the policy for the redevelopment of East Darling Harbour in Sydney where then Premier Carr announced the project needed to be revenue neutral – but not a cash cow for other projects. Auckland ratepayers have never been given this option to think about, nor has the professional planning and design establishment been asked for ideas of what could be delivered under that economic scenario.
Meanwhile Auckland City Council staff are engaged in dealing with the Plan Change sought for the land on behalf of the region by Sea and City. The bulk of the submissions from the public oppose proposed building heights. The Auckland Classic Yacht Association has called for a maritime heritage trail and for the creation of a heritage harbour. However the hearing, which is likely to start in May this year, will mainly consider environmental effects of proposed development rather than the public wisdom of ARC’s commercial decisions about the land and waterfront edge.
Sea and City is under pressure to get at least some of the development up and running and delivering revenue in time to accommodate Rugby World Cup festivities there in 2011. To meet these deadlines, ARC has been advised that it will be required to consider and approve detailed plans for Precinct One of the development in the next month or two. This Jellicoe Precinct includes Te Whero Bridge and all of the land between North Wharf and Madden Street.
It is disturbing that this detailed precinct planning will precede finalisation of the Plan Change. This is not the appropriate way for a public body to go about a major development. A good and appropriate range of skills now sit at Sea and City’s board, and I am sure they will do their best with the hand that has been dealt to them. However I am certain that a better peoples’ waterfront – and one which would accommodate Auckland’s maritime heritage industry and feature its Maori maritime culture – would be delivered if they did not have the pressure of meeting short-term Rugby World Cup objectives and the ARC requirement to make so much profit from private development on a precious public asset.
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