Future of historic pier hangs in balance

8th June 2006

By John Cousins

An historic feature of Tauranga's downtown waterfront could be lost if the city council is unable to secure commercial funding to rebuild the decaying structure.

The prospect of Coronation Pier being demolished and not replaced was put by Cr Bill Faulkner, who argued against ratepayers bearing the $5 million cost of redevelopment.

He said that once the council started charging commercial rates on a new pier, it would not see the present berth-holders for dust.

And the prospect of attracting commercial boat owners prepared to pay high fees was not good. It was more likely they would choose the marinas or maritime developments mooted for Sulphur Point.

Cr Faulkner's comments came as the council debated long-term planning options for the waterfront's Coronation Pier and the proposed waka landing feature further up The Strand reclamation.

It was revealed that negotiations are under way with a private enterprise partner to rebuild the pier, which is five to 10 years away from being condemned.

The developer has adopted a more flexible approach than the last time the council tested the market, when it received "frivolous" proposals of multi-storeyed developments for the pier.

Cr Faulkner questioned the public benefit of ratepayers stumping up an ongoing $450,000 a year in operating expenses if the pier was rebuilt without commercial input.

He said the pier was an eyesore of old offices that obstructed views across the harbour, whereas pontoons could sit alongside the waterfront at a fraction of the price.

Cr Faulkner also used last week's council meeting to complain about "the monstrosity" in front of the Kestrel, "which we all agree we did not think would happen".

No one at the meeting disagreed.

The council decided that because of the uncertainties surrounding whether the pier would be built as a joint venture, it was wiser to spend the next two years resolving consent and engineering issues for the whole waterfront.

By then, it would know whether the priority for development from 2008-10 should be the waka landing or Coronation Pier.

Another issue for the waterfront was the proposed museum on a pier.

The council still has to decide whether to commit to expensive geotechnical tests, needed to ascertain the feasibility of building over the water, or to go with one of the land-based alternative sites.