YOUR COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER |MARCH 24 | No.257
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The diamond-shaped 15-hectare surf lagoon at Aventuur's proposed Auckland Surf Park
Fancy a Surf...in Dairy Flat?
A
decision about the Auckland surf park planned for Dairy Flat and championed by All Black legend and life-long surfer Sir John Kirwan, could be known by the end of April. The application lodged late last year by Aventuur is before the Environmental Protection Agency for consideration and a decision could be known soon thanks to the COVID-19 Recovery (Fast Track Consenting) legislation. If successful, it will yield a significant economic benefit to the area, creating up to 400 new jobs during the construction phase and leading to approximately 120 full-time roles when it's operational in the summer of 2026-2027. Aventuur estimates the Auckland Surf Park will bring in $600 million per annum to the Auckland economy. The Dairy Flat site was chosen after a three-year search because it ticked a lot of boxes says Trevor Mckewen, New Zealand Project Partner for Aventuur. "We wanted to be within 30 minutes of the CBD, close to the motorway, public transport as well as
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the east coast surfing community, like Orewa and Mangawhai," he says. Those using the site will gain access via 1350 Dairy Flat Highway, exiting the Northern Motorway at Silverdale offramp. There is expected to be parking for 100 cars with close to 100 people able to use the pool at any one time. The total site area of 42 hectares includes a solar farm and data centre and the heat these generate will be used to heat the 15-hectare lagoon to a comfortable temperature year round. "The lagoon is about the size of the Melbourne Cricket Ground and holds the equivalent of 50 Olympic-sized swimming pools in terms of water and we're quite proud of this virtuous circle of energy use. It means we can heat the lagoon sustainably without passing on the cost to visitors," says McKewen. Aventuur's patented filtration and circulation system will help to keep the algae and bacteria at bay and ensure the water stays blue so that when surfers take a mouthful of water it will taste like swimming pool water. The wave-making technology behind
the pool is Wavegarden Cove, licensed by Aventuur from a Spanish company and regarded as next level. Their first Australian surf park using Wavegarden tech, URBNSURF Melbourne, opened in 2020 and was so successful a second, URBNSURF Sydney opens later this month. Several New Zealand pro surfers have backed the surf pool concept, saying that training there will help them keep pace with surfers from other countries. But it's not just elite surfers who'll benefit. "These pools democratise surfing," says McKewen. "If you surf in the sea, about 10% of the surfers get 90% of the waves, surfing is a reasonably aggressive sport. In the pool you're not challenged for waves. There are 12-15 waves per hour and the waves are mechanical, so each wave is the same. You progress much faster," he says. The project is backed by Water Safety New Zealand, Surf Lifesaving New Zealand, Paralympics New Zealand and Surfing New Zealand. Even so, consent is not assured. However, McKewen is confident in Aventuur's submission and says there are mechanisms within the legislation that allow for further discussions. So watch this space, Dairy Flat may be a hot surf spot in just a couple VJ of years.
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3 March News Local Board News 4 Playcentre Families Go Camping 5 Term One Kicks Off 6 You Deserve a Medal 7 8 BBQ and Banter Strategic Trust & Tax 9 Planning Founders Day Returns 10 11 Classifieds Golden Times Ahead! 12
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