Coastal Plan Review

Present Coastal plan priorities give first place to ‘conservation’. This is frankly dopey, since there is endless argument over what is being conserved. It certainly is not the original beach, with its low or absent, ever-shifting dunes. It currently seems to be the ‘conservation’ of man-made dunes, created with the non-native sand binders of Marram and Ice-plant which now form the most prominent vegetation. Except, of course, where there aren’t any dunes – North Beach surf club, and Central Brighton. There, presumably, we are conserving stone seawalls and paved carparks.

Proponents of keeping the Coastal policy exactly as is (i.e. Conservation focused) need to acknowledge that this policy acts directly against the revitalization process. By trapping the beach and dunes in a 1980’s time-warp as to uses, dune contour, width and height, they are standing in the way of revitalization.

This ‘conservation’ objective needs to be replaced by a zoned approach which emphasizes particular priorities for distinct zones. After all, the beach from the Waimakariri Mouth to the tip of the Southshore spit is just too diverse for a one-size-fits-all Coastal policy.

It seems more intelligent to zone off the beach priorities just as the land uses on the shore side are themselves zoned. Five distinct zones can be identified by a glance at what lies behind the dunes now.

1. From Waimairi Surf Club to Thomson Park should be recreation and amenity focused
2. Central NB area down to Shackleton Street should definitely be commercial/residential Recreation amenity focused in keeping with the Revitalisation intention
3. Between Shackleton Street (which marks the beginning of the old 5-chain wide Beach Reserve) and Tern Street, some combination of ‘wild experience’ with a mild conservation-cum-recreation focus would seem appropriate.
4. South of Tern Street, the dunes are privately owned,
5. The Spit area itself is a Conservation area with a focus on migratory birds.

These changes would provide something for everyone and avoid the locked-in, one policy for all approach which is currently in place. If you wanted a latte in a tiki bar by the beach, you could go to Central NB or North Beach. If you wanted to bird-watch you could go to the tip of the Spit. If you wanted to drive your 4WD on the beach you could get a permit at Spencer Park and go up the Waimak Mouth spit. If you wanted a ‘wild’ experience but close to the city, you could get on your bike and go somewhere between Shackleton and Tern streets. If you want to find a decent size wave you could try the artificial reef. Beach-sail or kite-surf could be for hire just south of the Pier. And you could still walk the doggies almost anywhere but the marked areas, s’il vous plait.

Differential zoning would make it much more workable than the present tunnel-vision policy emphasis. So the policy suggestion is:

Review the Coastal Plan policies with a view to zoning, allowing differing priorities in different zones, and to harmonise these with the Revitalization Plan.