Project partners for Te Rāhui Herenga Waka, the new boat harbour for Whakatāne, have met to discuss progress and their continued commitment to the project in the light of the identification of additional contaminates at the boat harbour site.

Five Management Plans document how we will conduct ourselves to ensure the protection of the environment and surrounding community.

Further testing was undertaken has been a worthwhile investment to ensure that the project delivers a long legacy not only for this generation, but for future generations of Whakatāne people. 

Whakatāne boatbuilder Glenn Shaw says the new boat harbour has started bringing additional jobs and opportunities to Whakatāne before it has even been built.

With preparations in full swing for the build of Te Rāhui Herenga Waka, the commercial boat harbour for Whakatāne, a group has been formed to enable members of the community to be involved in structured meetings with representatives of the boat harbour.

The region’s new commercial boat harbour project, Te Rāhui Herenga Waka Whakatāne, is inviting land owners to apply to receive clean soil and sand from the site as it becomes available.

Enabling works - jobs that are completed onsite to get ready for major construction - will be completed in the next few months, with the major works likely to commence in the new year when the first contractor has been secured.

Conditions associated with a Resource Consent are critical to ensure that any environmental or community impacts are managed. They set outcomes, requirements and limits, and specifies how a project is achieved.

The Fast Track process is designed by the government to assist regions with recovering from the impacts of Covid-19 to get projects underway quickly.

This week the Environmental Protection Authority Te Mana Rauhī Taiao (EPA) advised that resource consent had been granted for a Boat Harbour to be developed in Keepa Road in Whakatāne.

New places will be created within the boat harbour for native species to habitat.

As a brand-new development, Te Rāhui Herenga Waka has an opportunity to achieve environmental excellence to a standard that few other marinas in New Zealand – and even in the world - can enjoy.

The Beacon and Local Democracy Reporting spoke with us about disposing of the tonnes of wood peelings and bark that will be removed from the site.

Whakatāne’s new commercial boat harbour is one step closer to construction with the formalisation of a partnership between Te Rāhui Lands Trust, Whakatāne District Council, Ngāti Awa Group Holdings, the Crown via Kānoa – Regional Economic Development & Investment Unit, and agreement from landowners to progress the development.