Devonport super-yachts project left high and dry

By WAYNE THOMPSON

Plans to install a huge floating dry dock for super-yacht refits at the Devonport Naval Base have been blocked because it would mar harbour views.

The dock was supposed to yield 60 extra jobs and $20 million a year in charges for work on super-yachts coming to Auckland next year for the America's Cup regatta.

Planning commissioners for the Auckland Regional Council say the size of the dock proposed by Babcock New Zealand will cause "significant adverse visual effects".

A dock about 100m in length and 40m wide would have two steel sides and, when needed, a telescopic roof which would rise up to 29m.

This would make a 30m part of the structure taller than the cliffs behind the Navy dockyard, which is run by Babcock under contract.

Forty-five submissions opposed consent for the proposal, including those from seven residents, the North Shore City Council, Devonport Community Board and Environmental Defence Society.

Babcock chief executive Mike Franklin said it was "extraordinary" for commissioners to turn down the dock without trying to negotiate changes to make its size and shape more visually acceptable.

The company needed the lucrative super-yacht trade to compensate for a drop in Navy maintenance work of 80 per cent in six years.