Port reclamation decision pleases

Press, 15 May 1987, Page 5

Port reclamation decision pleases

The Canterbury United Council was pleased that the Minister of Transport, Mr Prebble, had decided to allow the Lyttelton Harbour Board to proceed with its reclamation plan, said the council’s regional economist, Mr Philip Donnelly.

The United Council had presented a submission supporting the Harbour Board’s appeal against the Ports Authority veto of the plan. “We are pleased in the sense that the Government recognises it is a decision that should be made at a regional level,” he said. “It is absurd for an outside body, based in Wellington, to say we can’t expand our resources,” said Mr Donnelly.

He said the Minister agreed with two key points in the council’s submission.

First, that the Ports Authority put too much emphasis on the shortterm economic prospects, without considering the more favourable longterm prospects for exports. Second, it was a question of regional development policy, said Mr Donnelly.

“The Government says that each region should be left to its own devices; that its policy is to remove impediments to development.” The Minister had now conceded it was a local decision, he said.

In his decision released yesterday, Mr Prebble agreed with the Lyttelton Harbour Board’s claim that it had inadequate facilities even for its present level of container traffic.

The board projected a 5 per cent increase in container throughput a year over the next five years, but even a 2 per cent growth rate would necessitate reclamation. Mr Prebble also commented on the submissions opposing the 3.95 ha reclamation plan.

He found the Christchurch Civic Trust’s suggestion that the reclamation would detrimentally affect the harbour environment “not to be correct.” The trust described the proposal as expensive and extremely detrimental to the Lyttelton environment. The Inner Harbour Moorings Association based its submissions on

the loss of 40 safe pleasure boat moorings in the inner harbour. Mr Prebble said, “I find it is a fact that the Lyttelton Harbour Board has gone out of its way to look after the interest of the pleasure boats, but as a responsible board it cannot hold back the commercial development of the port to protect a handful of pleasure boat moorings.”

Mr Prebble concluded by saying, “Indeed, not to agree to this reclamation would be to cripple seriously the Port of Lyttelton.”

The member of Parliament for Lyttelton, Mrs Ann Hercus, said she was “absolutely delighted” with Mr Prebble’s decision to allow the reclamation.

“This is a very positive decision which will allow our port to continue to develop and expand,” she said. “As with the Government’s decision to allow the continued export of coal through Lyttelton, this decision by the Minister of Transport is great news for the electorate of Lyttelton, and the wider Canterbury region,” she said.