Endless surf ready to roll at Mt Maunganui

Every surfer dreams of the endless wave, and it is now a step closer after a court ruling cleared the way for an artificial reef at Mt Maunganui.

The reef, about 250m off the beach at the popular Tay St surfing location, will be designed to create surfable water.

The aim is to produce a top all-year surfing venue, with extra benefits in coastal protection, scientific research and education.

The proposal, being promoted by the Mount Reef Surf Trust, ran into difficulty when residents of the Sun Pacific Villas Timeshare Resort challenged Environment Bay of Plenty's decision to grant a resource consent for the plan.

They also challenged the decision not to publicly notify the reef application.

Sun Pacific is near the corner of Tay St and Marine Parade, and its residents argued that the reef would attract more visitors, harming the environmental and amenity values of the area.

But in a decision handed down in the High Court at Tauranga, Justice Rodney Hansen said the reef would not change the character of the area.

"The increase in visitor numbers will be small and intermittent," he said ...

"In the face of police advice that there is no correlation between surfing activities and criminal or anti-social behaviour, I can only regard as speculative any suggestion that burglaries and vandalism of nearby properties will increase."

Trust secretary Phil Smith said he was delighted with the decision, but was not sure when "the wheels will get turning again".

He said the legal challenge had put the project back 18 months.

The trust, which took over Waikato University's initial reef application, was granted the resource consent in December 1999.

The Tauranga District Council gave a grant of $150,000 in 2000.

The trust wanted to start building the 95m-long reef in May last year but its fundraising dried up when the legal challenge was lodged.

Mr Smith is worried that time is running out.

The trust was granted a five-year consent, which needs to be renewed by December 2004.

Shaw Mead, a director of Hamilton firm ASR, which designs artificial reefs, said the project could be fitted in next winter.

ASR was involved in 14 similar projects worldwide, and artificial reefs were also being considered for New Plymouth, Opunake, Lyall Bay (Wellington), Napier, Gisborne and New Brighton (Christchurch).

- NZPA