Cement silos at Whanganui Port to be torn down for port renewal project

Cement silos in Tod St at Whanganui Port will be demolished by the end of August. Photo / Bevan Conley

Whanganui business Jurgens Demolition has the contract to demolish the cement silos and attached buildings at Whanganui Port, starting in the next fortnight.

The silos were owned by Q-West Boat Builders, director Myles Fothergill said.

The company will pay for the demolition, as part of its $11 million investment in the marine precinct part of the port renewal project.

Q-West is one of five key participants in the shared port project. It wants to create a modern and environmentally responsible vessel servicing and maintenance operation at the port.

It intends to refurbish the old port buildings on the corner of Heads Rd and Tod St as commercial space.

There is still a substantial amount of cement inside the silos. It will be repurposed, along with crushed concrete, and used for site stabilisation works and road-base around the marine precinct.

Apart from a very small amount of timber and some cladding that contains asbestos, everything else will be recycled or repurposed at the port. Only about 5 per cent of the demolition material will need to be disposed of to landfill.

Q-West intends to engage with neighbouring businesses to tell them about the demolition, which is likely to involve heavy traffic flows, noise and hazards.

Te Pūwaha, the port project's governance group, wants community input at the start of the project rather than at the back end in a typical resource consents-led model.

A series of community events has been held to share project plans with interested groups, including Tregenna St residents, boardriders, Progress Castlecliff and Castlecliff Coast Care and the fishing adjunct.

Some of the meetings have been about plans and aspirations for North Mole, and others have been more broadly about the port project.

Dates for larger public events will be set soon to give the community a chance to have a say.

There will be two opportunities this weekend for the public to find out more about the project. There will be a stall at the Whanganui River Markets tomorrow and on Sunday, May 9, there will be a stall at the Castlecliff Beach Market at Castlecliff Domain, Rangiora St.