Nationally Significant Surf break to be destroyed – For a Cycle Way?
In order to provide a cycle way and car park for better access to the surf break, Mangamaunu itself will be adversely affected. Please sign the petition
19 March 2018
NCTIR are bulldozing through a consent that will build a cycleway around the point break at Mangamaunu within the foreshore and coastal hazard zone, irreparably damaging the surf break and ruining the pristine nature of this protected bay. The consent is being pushed through under the earthquake emergency legislation (Clauses 5-10 of the Hurunui/Kaikoura Earthquakes Recovery (Coastal Route and Other Matters) Order 2016) that has the purpose to open the road and carry out restoration work. Clearly the road is already open and building a new cycleway is not restoration of any kind but a poorly thought out development that will cause damage to this nationally significant surf break. This is an inappropriate use of the emergency legislation.
Mangamaunu Bay is the only bay or stretch of coast that NCTIR is currently working in which has 5 nationally significant features: It lies within the Kaikoura Whale Sanctuary, contains two protected Mataitais, and one nationally significant surf break as listed in the New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement. The Surf break is recognised as a nationally significant Outstanding Natural Feature (ONF) which gives the surf break (and the bay for which it relies upon for its natural processes that define it) the rating of Outstanding Natural Character (ONC).
The Surf Break Protection Society (SPS) is lobbying the Ministers of Transport, Tourism, Conservation, and Environment to withdraw the consent applications, soon to be granted under emergency earthquake legislation and to direct NCTIR to put this consent application through a full RMA process so that the appropriate checks and balances are in place before any work is undertaken. Under the emergency legislation, KDC must approve the consent, however this legislation lapses on the 31st March and from the 1st April onwards, a full RMA process would be required and the national safeguards would be back in place and no adverse impacts would be allowed.
NCTIR’s, (the alliance responsible for re-establishing the Kaikoura road and rail networks) own desktop risk assessment for the new cycleway and supporting seawall at Managamaunu indicates and acknowledges that the risk of adverse effects on the nationally significant surf break is likely, and the risk level, high.
Maungamaunu is one of 17 surf breaks listed in schedule one of the New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement (NZCPS), and has the highest level of protection possible afforded an outstanding Natural Feature (ONF), where adverse effects must be avoided in their entirety. In 2017 SPS alerted NCTIR to the NZCPS and they are in the full knowledge that under this national policy statement, there is to be no adverse impact on the surfbreak. By knowingly submitting this consent 4 weeks prior to the emergency legislation lapsing, the damage to the surf break from the construction of a revetment to supposedly accommodate a cycleway and “improved” amenity access to the surf break can only be seen as intentional, and is a serious cause for concern.
Any construction of a cycleway within Mangamaunu Bay should occur with the full protections and thorough processes of the RMA which includes wider consultation and community voice. For all intents and purposes it appears as if the emergency earthquake legislation is being mis-used in this consent process to circumvent the Resource Management Act.
Expert advice from Dr Shaw Mead provided to SPS regarding the effects that are likely to occur from the rock revetment is that “Avoiding any works below MHWS” will not mitigate the impacts of the structure on coastal processes during storm events. “All of this will impact negatively on the nationally significant surfing break, with feedback effects such as development of erosion holes and rips unknown..”
The technology does not exist at present to restore a natural break disturbed or damaged by human intervention.
Mangamaunu is a key international tourism asset for Kaikoura and New Zealand, deserving of a much greater respect from NCTIR when considering development options.
“There are only 470 recognised surf breaks in New Zealand, Mangamaunu is one of the best of the best. Influences on surfing wave quality only need to be subtle to degrade a spectacular surf break to a surf break of average quality.. or worse.” Says SPS president Paul Shanks.
In a Feb 4 2018 government press release, New Zealand’s major surf breaks and the impacts of vehicles on beaches are receiving more attention from local authorities because of the New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement 2010 (NZCPS), new analysis released by Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage today shows.
“Surfers can be grateful that protecting surf breaks is now something that councils consider in preparing plans and when resource consents are sought for development work such as dredging,” Ms Sage said.
SPS notes that the NZCPS has been rendered useless by NCTIR under emergency legislation.
Under the emergency legislation there is limited notification and no right of appeal, therefore we urge the ministers to call in the Mangamaunu consent and ensure this nationally significant taonga is protected, not desecrated, by the current NCTIR plan.
LINKS
https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/httpwwwsurfbreakorgnz#
https://our.actionstation.org.nz/petitions/save-mangamaunu-surf-break-1
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2018/04/30/106802/ministers-refuse-to-move-on-surfing-break-threat
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2018/04/04/102482/top-surfing-break-under-threat
https://www.savethewaves.org/programs/endangered-waves/endangered-wave-mangamaunu-nz/
http://www.surfbreak.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/SPS_Ministerial-Letter-Mangamaunu.pdf
https://www.ecan.govt.nz/do-it-online/resource-consents/notifications-and-submissions/current-consent-projects/new-zealand-transport-agency-and-kiwirail-holdings/
(Click on applications, in the drop down menu select; Appendix D – Coastal Assessment (PDF File, 1.86MB)
http://www.surfbreak.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Mangamaunu-Letter-and-Appendices.pdf
21st June 2017
Classic Surf Break Mangamaunu At risk
Mangamaunu, A hot right hand point break in Kaikoura is now at the mercy of the next big storm event that hits this coastline, due to the North Canterbury Transport Infrastructure Recovery (NCTIR ) consortium dumping massive amounts of “slip fill” southward along the foreshore of Mangamaunu Bay toward the base of this much revered surf break, within the coastal hazard zone.
Mangamaunu is One of 17 surf breaks listed in Schedule One of the New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement, and is afforded the highest legal protection available under the NZCPS, and Resource Management Act (RMA). As far as Environmental legal protection goes, it doesn’t get better than this…..
Yet the legal protection given to Mangamaunu Bay appears to bear less weight than the paper it is written on, as NCTIR are moving ahead full steam to reconnect New Zealand’s arterial routes for State Highway one, and the Railway’s main trunk line.
SPS recognise the importance of reconnecting our nation’s main trunk lines, but it has been over six months since the Quakes. The methodology must surely have been given full scrutiny by now.
The consortium must have mapped out their plan, taking into consideration all the guidelines set out within the NZCPS. It has to be pointed out that other options are available, but NCTIR so far are not considering the pleas of locals who are offering their own land to save Mangamaunu Bay, some sites are within a kilometer of the site. NCTIR already have a consented site, an old quarry just 4 km away. Under the emergency powers afforded NCTIR, the consortium must give ten days notice to locals, who then would have three days to respond.
NCTIR have breached the conditions of the emergency powers in the first place, by not informing the residents of Mangamaunu Bay. If this consultation had taken place then NCTIR would have been “informed” of the Bay’s significance, (despite being a coastal environment where initially other options should have been considered first) and would have been compelled to consider that consultation, and the inevitable offers of land by locals in order to spare this spectacular bay.
The works began on the 4th of June, were carried out mostly at night, with only one resident being notified the day before works commenced. Within 4 days the spoil mound was 6 – 9 meters high – 25 meters wide and 300 meters long. The NCTIR consortium
So what are the risks to Mangamaunu?
The spoil has been placed in a Coastal hazard zone, where a large swell / storm event could carry this soil – clay material into the lineup of the surf break you only have to consider what happened to the Blacks surf break at Mahia when a slip was bulldozed into the sea to appreciate the risk. The quality of Blacks was severely impacted on, as the slip material filled up the channel between the the surf break and beach, impacting on the breaks peel angle and break intensity.
SPS placed the photos we have in front of a coastal scientist from eCoast Ltd of Raglan, Dr Shaw Mead for his comment:
“I believe it is the easiest/cheapest option and very short-sighted in a part of NZ reliant on tourism, especially marine-based tourism. Apart from the impacts on aesthetics/natural character along the coast, the potential for silt run-off straight into the sea doesn’t seem to have been addressed/considered – no silt screens or retention/settling ponds are visible.”
NCTIR have not conducted a surf break impact assessment report for this consent, nor are the impacts considered in the ecology – Assessment of Environmental Effects Reports for the consents.
The Canterbury Regional Council (ECan) mapping system clearly identifies the area where spoil has been deposited in Mangamaunu Bay as being in the Coastal Hazard Zone. Such an activity is reckless in regard to the highly active coastal environment(the yellow dashed line denotes the extent of the coastal hazard zone)
SPS has written a letter to the Minister of transport, Minister of Conservation, Minister of Tourism, the chairs of both the Kaikoura District Council and Ecan, as well as the Chair of Ngai Tahu highlighting our concerns for this Nationally significant surf break.
