Claims a relaxation of harbour rules will make building a marina easier in the northern harbour are being downplayed by former Western Bay of Plenty District Councillor Sam Dunlop.

Western Bay of Plenty District Councillor Sam Dunlop. Photo: file.

He's against the new northern harbour development zones at Tanners Point, Bowentown.

'Neither of them should have any hint of development because they are pretty sensitive areas, both ecologically and culturally,” says Sam.

Changing the rules about northern harbour developments is going to run into the same issues raised by previous attempts to create boating facilities at Tanners Point and Bowentown.

Tanner's has limited space because it is a community area, says Sam.

'Boaties will be happy to bulldoze the Community Reserve and turn it into a parking space,” says Sam.

But more boats using the Tanners Point ramp will exacerbate the problem of damage from wake wash.

The Bay of Plenty Regional Council draft coastal plan creates four new harbour development zones; Bowentown, Tanners Point, Omokoroa, and Opureora Point on Matakana Island.

'That needs to be very specific description because if you just call it a development zone, that creates an expectation, doesn't it,” says Sam.

'I've been involved in the northern harbour since 1995, but in ‘98 when I went on council I was able to put a lot of those issues before council.

'Personally I don't think they would get through part two of the Resource Management Act. Both of them (Bowentown and Tanners Point) would founder on the cultural consultation.

'I think that's always been the case. The Regional Council should allow investigation of a site, but I've been through that exercise. It was long expensive and painful. And because boaties won't make up their mind where they want to go, it was even more painful and expensive.

'Every time you turned round a fresh bunch of boaties would arrive with a new idea, and quite successfully sabotaged the opportunities that were there for Western Bay by thinking they knew better – as the Bowentown Boat Club found out when they were going to roar in and dredge the channel and play merry hell. They were stopped by tangata whenua.

'And rightly so. Tangata whenua had given that message 15 years ago. And they are not in the documents and the boating club just thought they knew better.”

The message to the Western Bay of Plenty District Council was loud and clear when it was investigating all-tide facilities to try and construct a 24 hour boat ramp at Bowentown to reduce the damage at Tanners Point, says Sam.

The Bowentown boating club produced concept drawings of a dredged channel with shops facilities and a bridge across to Athenree from Seaforth Road.

'But they didn't do their homework on the dredging of that channel which is hugely significant,” says Sam. 'They got shanghaied by small lobby group that didn't reflect the wishes of a lot of the boaties anyway.

'The fear is if you put a boating facility in everybody rushes to get a bigger boat and then wants more facilities.

'Whereas with tangata whenua you get a boat to suit what's existing, and a hell of a lot of people can launch a good sized boat at the top half of the tide. And if you want a floating bordello, tie it up at Sulphur Point.”

The Bowentown Harbour Development Zone is in the northern Tauranga Harbour adjacent to Bowentown Reserve and Poi Road.

Tanners Point Harbour Development Zone has the only all-tide boat-ramp in the northern Tauranga Harbour.

The comment in the draft coastal plan is there is scope at Tanner Point for limited development of public infrastructure, such as additional boat-ramps, pontoons, wharf/jetty, boating berths/storage, car and trailer parking areas, provisioning and unloading of boats including commercial fishers.