The idea of encouraging kura to swim, bomb and dive away from the dangers of the public boat ramp and the development at the port was discussed at the recent iwi and hapū port walkthrough, the council said.
“There was certainly a murmur of excitement about the plans, our rangatahi are looking for safe spaces to swim and enjoy our awa so to potentially be able to offer that is fantastic,” Te Pūwaha project director Hayden Turoa said.
The council said the final design for the platform is intended to be created locally, using recycled materials from the port wharves, with an opportunity for UCOL to support the building of the structure.
Port Operating Company director Declan Millin said he was pleased to see the dredging consent lodged.
“The consent application is a milestone for this project, particularly as we prepare for construction tenders to be released in the New Year.
“Our project team, alongside Te Mata Pūau (local hapū), have been flat out preparing this consent which will not only ensure continued vessel access to the port and new hardstand site, but will also create a safe swimming space for our rangatahi.”
The dredging consent seeks to remove sediment from an area to the south of the existing public boat ramp, where a bombing and swimming platform is proposed to be developed in late 2023.
The lodging of consent is only one step in what has been an ongoing process.
“While the lodging of the consent is technically necessary, engagement with hapū and the community over the dredging has been under way for some time under the Te Awa Tupua framework,” Hayden Turoa said.
“And this process will continue to be applied to ensure that the particulars of dredging are guided in real time in line with the abundance mindset of Te Pūwaha.”
Whanganui Port project manager Phil Wardale said getting the consent in before Christmas meant it would allow access to the heavy pavement handstand where Q-West’s mobile boat hoist will operate from.
“... along with continued access to the port and public boat ramp,” he said.
The application will be known as the ‘Stage 1 dredging area’ with the expectation that it will be processed promptly by Horizons early in the New Year, Wardale said.
“This will allow the project and the public confidence that a consent is held for the important dredging activity at the port, which is an activity included in the regional One Plan.”
The consent will be sought for a period of two years, with the expectation that dredging would occur when required during and after the completion of the upgraded infrastructure including the wharves, council said.
The sediment will likely be dredged using what is known as a cutter suction dredge where the material is vacuumed up via a pump and then discharged out down a pipe where it can rejoin the flow of the awa, downstream of Wharf One.
Council had not yet decided whether the port will acquire a purpose-built machine or will procure a contractor with suitable equipment to complete the work.
Procurement for the dredging solution is expected to get under way in the second quarter of 2023, while in the interim the port’s own barge will undertake all dredging works.
It is expected the Stage 1 dredging consent will be approved in the first half of 2023, in time for the arrival of Q-West’s mobile boat hoist with 380-tonne lift capacity.
