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T
he revitalisation of Whanganui’s port could see local boat-builder Q-West relocated by year’s end and even a new venture, Cloudy Bay Clams, in place. That’s the hope of Whanganui mayor Hamish McDouall following a flood of submissions to the draft master plan. Submissions on the plan closed recently and 200 submissions were received by the district council - a “good response”, Mr McDouall said. But yesterday he cautioned that the port re-development would not happen overnight, but rather would be a gradual process. “A lot of people are saying they have been wanting for this for a long time.” Central government has undertaken to provide $500,000 funding to help the council develop a detailed blueprint to revitalise the marine precinct. The funding is available through Accelerate 25, the Whanganui-Manawatu Regional Growth Study.
One of the first steps is the relocation of Q-West’s boat building’s premises to Tod Street. Mr McDouall said that his hope was that move would be made by the end of this year. He also hoped that Cloudy Bay Clams may also be operating from the port by then - “if they choose to come here”. The Blenheim-based company has indicated it wants to use Whanganui’s port as a base for harvesting shellfish from the Foxton coast. It has a quota of 2000 tonnes of shellfish to harvest in seas that stretch 26km north and south of the Manawatu River bar at Foxton. “We’re working hard to get them here,” Mr McDouall said. There was also significant interest in the development of a viable ferry service, including that proposed by Mid-West Ferries. He said council was awaiting a robust business plan from the company. A smaller scale ferry service between Whanganui and Nelson was also proposed in the submissions.
Photo: Sieska Verdonk
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Other submissions covered recreational uses for the port basin, such as fishing platforms and sea fishing. “We have a great coastal fishery here.” But commercial development needed to be the initial focal point. Mr McDouall said it was too early to put cost estimates on the various ideas but that council would need to look carefully where it spent the available capital. Funding would come from ratepayers, central government and from commercial interests. It was also important to future proof any work done, such as perhaps the addition of rail linkages. Coastal shipping was becoming more relevant, Mr McDouall said, and Whanganui was in a unique position with the only south facing west coast port in the North Island. Details of submissions and an update on the next stage of the port redevelopment would be released soon.