Submissions close 10 November for Island Bay Seawall consultation

Consultation on how to manage coastal hazards, for the area of Island Bay Esplanade between Brighton Street and the Southern end of Shorland Park, will close on November 10 after going for a month.

Councillor Iona Pannett, the Council’s Environment Committee Chair says the community and Council have worked together to develop and implement an engagement plan on a collaborative basis. “The purpose of the plan has been to look at a variety of options to manage these hazards and to ensure everyone has a say on the issue.”

Councillor David Lee, the Council’s Climate Change Portfolio Leader says five concept options were identified to try to cope with long-term coastal hazards and to get discussions started. “People who attended public meetings as part of the consultation process have been able to discuss the options and hear from subject-experts on traffic, engineering, climate change, sand dunes, parks and gardens and heritage. Attendees were also able to ask questions, discuss issues and put forward their own ideas and preferences.”

“If you haven’t had time to put in a submission, there’s still time to do so. We’ve made it easy to communicate your views to Council by ensuring there’s a range of ways to do this,” says Councillor Paul Eagle, Community, Sport and Recreation Committee Chair. He supported the decision to develop a collaborative consultation process that engaged Island Bay residents right at the beginning of the project. “We wanted to ensure lots of time was provided for locals to learn about the wider issues with the seawall and to have conversations about solutions that could work for the whole community.”

People will also have an opportunity to make an oral submission to the Council’s Environment Committee. The hearings will take place at the City Council and in Island Bay at the end of November and beginning of December. A decision on which options will be investigated in more detail will be made mid-December.

Further opportunities will be provided for the community to have their say on the detailed design of options early next year.

Further information and online submission forms are available at: wellington.govt.nz/islandbayseawall. Alternatively people can email the Council at islandbayseawall@wcc.govt.nz or visit our information hub at the Island Bay Community Centre, 137 The Parade or access information at the Island Bay Library, 167 The Parade.

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