Preferred options on future of Whitianga Esplanade revealed
Published on 02 May 2025
Preferred options on how to improve Whitianga’s marine facilities and waterfront area will be presented to the Mercury Bay Community Board on Wednesday 7 May.
Stages 1 and 2 of the project involved developing concept plans to upgrade local marine structures, the waterfront area, and the Robinson Road Boat Ramp area. This followed review of previous studies, and involved input from local user groups, residents, commercial operators and iwi representatives. Public consultation, including community drop-in sessions and a survey on the options, was held from November to December 2024.
Survey respondents listed walking/jogging/running, the passenger ferry, the playground, waterfront events and recreational trailer boating as the most popular activities in these areas. Other survey findings, including most popular priorities, and how the project got to this point can be found here.
A report, and the preferred concept plans recommended by the Project Advisory Group will now be presented to the Community Board at its meeting.
These are:
- A new public pier with dedicated commercial fishing hub at existing wharf (Concept 1)
- Retention of the playground, better parking (Concept 3)
- Robinson Road Boat Ramp upgrades and overflow parking – do nothing, plans deferred due to funding limitations (Concept 5)
The plans can be viewed here. The report can be viewed here.
If the Community Board decides to proceed, over the next 18 months Stage 3 and 4 of the project will focus on detailed design and business case development. Stage 3 & 4 is estimated to cost $1.1m and can be accommodated by existing budgets.
Whether the substantive construction (Stage 5) goes ahead, will be determined in the 2027-2037 Long Term Plan when the community will again have the chance to have its say.
Although not part of this current stage of the project, there is $12.5m budgeted for between 2027 and 2030, and estimates for the preferred concept plans have indicated this may need to be increased to $13.5m. It is noted the report’s Total Budget Estimate of $16.5m includes the current Wharf and Pontoon Upgrades and all project figures have a 25% contingency. These total costs are not being signed off at Wednesday’s meeting.
Anyone can attend the meeting at 10 Monk St, Whitianga, from 9am or online via tcdc.govt/meetings. People can also register for Public Forum via tcdc.govt.nz/publicforum.