News
Southland District Council will move forward with plans to build a new wharf at Bathing Bay on Ulva Island, and dispose of the existing wharf at Post Office Cove.
The existing wharf provides commercial operators and recreational users with the ability to disembark and embark on Ulva Island, a predator-free sanctuary in Paterson Inlet, Stewart Island Rakiura. The Post Office Cove wharf is on Council land, and in the coastal marine area.
The wooden wharf was identified in 2014 as requiring immediate remedial work, which was carried out, but a report to Council at the time recommended other options be investigated, as any further maintenance expenditure may be uneconomical or any benefits short-lived.
Access from the wharf to Ulva Island’s Department of Conservation walking tracks is across privately owned property. This is allowed through a memorandum of understanding between the property owners and DOC.
Council staff worked with the Stewart Island Rakiura Community Board, the Stewart Island jetties subcommittee (and subsequently the Jetties Advisory Group), the property owners and other stakeholders, commercial operators, iwi and the community to investigate options for the wharf’s replacement.
Initially, a like-for-like replacement structure on the same site was proposed, but due diligence carried out by staff identified that this concept would not meet Council’s legal and operational requirements.
A feasibility study into building a new structure at the nearby Bathing Bay was undertaken by a marine engineer, and as a result staff presented the option of a newly designed wharf to the Stewart Island Rakiura Community Board on 9 June 2022. The board recommended that Council make a decision to proceed with the renewal of the Ulva Island wharf “based on the current revised design or not”.
Councillors decided at a meeting today to proceed with the Bathing Bay wharf. The total project budget is $1.2 million, of which 50% will be locally funded and 50% funded by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment through its Tourism Infrastructure Fund.
Resource and building consents will need to be lodged for the new wharf. Funding for connection to the DOC infrastructure has yet to be resolved but discussions are in progress to secure funding.
Staff will come back to Council with options for disposal of the existing wharf at a later date.