Waikato Regional Council has said in a Press Release that it is working with Thames-Coromandel District Council (TCDC) and developers over a consented project to build a marina at Tairua.

A range of concerns have recently been raised publicly about aspects of the development, which has been approved by the Environment Court after long-running debate amongst some members of the Tairua community.

The recent concerns include:

*suggestions that 34,700 cubic metres of harbour dredgings will be “dumped” on beaches in contravention of resource consents
* the fact that a significant number of truck movements will be required to shift dredged sand to the beaches
* that the extra sand at Manaia beach could block stormwater outlets.
However, the regional council’s consented sites manager Brent Sinclair said the consent granted by the court did not specify an upper limit on how much sand could be used for “beach nourishment”.

“Rather the consent required a coastal expert to identify the appropriate volume needed at the various nourishment sites to create a stable beach profile.

“Only suitable beach sands are to be placed on the harbour beaches. Inappropriate muddy sediments will be disposed of at an approved land based site. The consent holder also has the option of placing sand offshore of Pauanui, which will provide valuable sand to replenish that beach.

“The developer has a plan approved by us for spreading the dredged sand on to beaches. There is nothing that suggests this plan is inadequate but, in light of the concerns expressed recently, we are reviewing the detail of the plan with the developer’s co-operation.”

Mr Sinclair said the regional council’s role was to manage issues below the high tide mark and that the developer will need to agree a traffic management plan with TCDC regarding truck movements and TCDC will be managing issues around stormwater drains.

“We know that there have been and are a range of significant concerns about the development among some sections of the community,” said Mr Sinclair.

“For our part, the public can be assured that Waikato Regional Council will monitor closely compliance with the resource consent conditions in its areas of responsibility.”