Northport VISION FOR GROWTH WESTERN RECLAMATION Assessment Of Landscape, Natural Character & Amenity Effects March 2021 CLIENT: Northport PROJECT: Vision for Growth Expansion of Northport: Western Reclamation DOCUMENT STATUS: Draft 4 DATE: April 2021 AUTHOR: Stephen Brown Brown NZ Limited 156 Parnell Rad Parnell Auckland 1052 Ph: 09 377 7771 Mob: 021 646 181 2 Brown NZ Ltd April 2021 ATTACHMENTS 1-27: ATTACHMENT 1: “Western Reclamation: General Cargo” – Concept Plan ATTACHMENT 2: “Western Reclamation: Shipyard” – Concept Plan ATTACHMENT 3: Northport “Vision for Growth” – Location Aerial ATTACHMENTS 4 & 5: Mitigation Concept – General Cargo & Shipyard Scenarios ATTACHMENT 6: Whangarei District Plan – Outstanding Landscape Areas & Notable Landscape Areas ATTACHMENT 7: Proposed Northland RPS – Outstanding Natural features / Landscapes & Areas of High / Outstanding Natural Character ATTACHMENT 8: Indicative Zone of Theoretical Visibility for land areas around Whangarei Harbour ATTACHMENT 9: Viewpoint Location Map ATTACHMENTS 10-24: Photos from locations near Northport & around Whangarei Harbour exposed to the Western Reclamation & “Vision for Growth” sites: ▪ The intersection of Port Marsden Highway & Ralph Trimmer Drive ▪ Port Marsden Highway ▪ Marsden Point Road crossing Blacksmiths Creek ▪ The Marsden Bay foreshore near Albany Road ▪ Beach access and lookout next to One Tree Point Road ▪ Coastal reserve next to Whangarei Heads Road south-east of Waikaraka Beach ▪ Above 178 Manganese Point Road ▪ Next to Whangarei Heads Road & The Pines Golf Course in Parua Bay ▪ Next to Nook Road above Munroe Bay ▪ Whangarei Heads Road at the northern end of McLeod Bay ▪ Next to No.8 The Heights, Reotahi ▪ Beach Road, Reotahi ▪ Whangarei Heads Road next to Taurikura Beach & Reserve ▪ Above 2401 Whangarei Heads Road & Taurikura Bay ▪ Next to 2487 Whangarei Heads Road within McKenzie Bay ▪ Next to 9 Urquharts Bay Road & the Urquharts Bay beachfront ▪ Home Point gun battery ATTACHMENTS 25-27: Night-time Photos from: ▪ the Marsden Bay / Albany Road Beachfront; ▪ The Heights, Reotahi; ▪ Beach Road, Reotahi 3 Brown NZ Ltd April 2021 1. INTRODUCTION This report has been prepared by Brown NZ Ltd for Northport Limited. It addresses the landscape, natural character and amenity effects that would be generated by berthage expansion at the western end of Northport’s current port area at Marsden Point – in accordance with Northport’s “Vision for Growth” strategy. This expansion would result in the port expanding to the outer edge of Blacksmiths Creek and an area of identified High Natural Character that embraces the Creek and its harbour interface. The proposed expansion might also incorporate a new dry dock facility and shipyard within the area of proposed expansion – although this is an optional alternative to use of all of the proposed expansion area for cargo handling. These effects are analysed and described in the context of the existing deep-water port at Marsden Point, together with: • the adjacent Marsden Point Oil Refinery, • the enclosed waters of outer Whangarei Harbour; • the often spectacular, coastal landscape of Whangarei Heads opposite Marsden Point; and • the “Marsden Point Port” and “Business 2” zoned land that adjoins the current port and refinery. Although this assessment focuses largely on the proposed ‘western reclamation’ – extending towards Blacksmiths Creek – Northport is also proposing to develop the eastern end of the current port in the foreseeable future, subject to a separate application. This expansion would occur directly east of the existing Berth 3 and the Port’s consented, but yet to be implemented, Berth 4. It would occupy most of Marsden Point Beach immediately seaward of the Marsden Point Oil Refinery, making provision for a container terminal that is serviced by new cranes, significantly taller than those currently employed at Northport, together with new light standards. Both the western and eastern port expansions would also require dredging and construction operations within the body of Whangarei Harbour close to both the current port and oil refinery. Because of the likely cumulative impact of these joint Vision for Growth expansion projects on the coastal and hinterland environs of both Whangarei Harbour and Whangarei Heads, this assessment addresses the combined / accumulative effects of both applications, irrespective of their exact timing. Consequently, even though the proposed Eastern Reclamation Project is the subject of a separate report addressing its various ‘landscape’ effects, the content of that report largely mirrors that found in this Western Reclamation report. 4 Brown NZ Ltd April 2021 2. PROJECT DESCRIPTION The current Northport facilities are located at the end of Port Marsden Drive, with approximately 30 hectares of paved operational area currently serving three berths with a total (harbour frontage) length of 570m. In addition, Berth 4 is consented, but unimplemented, at the eastern end of the current port. This unimplemented consent area covers some 4.4ha and, if developed, would extend the current port’s sea frontage by some 270m, carrying it east of the current pilot vessel jetty and public lookout at the interface of the current port with Marsden Point Beach. The channel adjoining current Berths 1-3 ranges in depth from 13m to 14.5m. Another 28 hectares of land is available for port activities behind this paved ‘frontage’, while 180 hectares of land – stretching southwards from the current port – is available for port related ventures and operations. Much of the land behind the existing port, extending southwards to, and across, Marsden Bay Drive, is available for heavy industrial activities, while the Business 2 zone south of that road corridor, overlooking the inland margins of Blacksmith Creek and the Marsden Cove residential-canal development, is designed to accommodate lighter industry and commercial operations – of the kind otherwise generally concentrated around Whangarei’s CBD fringe. Marsden Point Zoning Map: Operative Whangarei District Plan The Western Reclamation footprint would be roughly triangular in form, occupying a total area of approximately 10.5ha. Its design land height would match that of the existing Northport land, with its berthage surface area set at a minimum of 5m above chart datum. This surface would be built up, using dredge spoil (sands and silts) and imported material (sand, rock and gravel). Two scenarios are proposed for the Western Reclamation: one seeing utilisation of it solely for cargo handling; the second incorporating a shipyard and dry dock – as outlined overleaf. 5 Brown NZ Ltd April 2021 General Cargo Scenario (Figure 1) This scenario utilises the entire footprint, with the reclamation’s berthage area merging with that of the existing port. Its western edge, facing towards Blacksmiths Creek would be lined by a rip-rap wall that is battered and sloping down towards the creek margins – similar to the Port’s current western edge. By contrast, the reclamation’s harbour frontage would be lined by vertical sheet-piling. This has yet to be designed, but could either comprise an open piled structure or a bulkhead type of wharf. Shipyard scenario (Figure 2) The shipyard scenario would have a more limited, west-facing batter slope, but would contain a 200m long berth at the western end of the reclamation. Again, a battered, rip-rap protected batter slope would run from the western shoreline near Blacksmiths Creek out to the sheet-piling of this berth, which would have a vertical face and (in all likelihood) a bulkhead type structure. The dry dock berth would be built within the reclamation, comprising a 280m by 110m indent (approximately 3ha) that opens put to the harbour (Figure 3). This would contain two berths, one for the floating dry dock (SY2) and the other (SY3) for vessels undergoing maintenance which do not require dry-docking. These would sit parallel with the previously mentioned, wharf (SY4) at the end of the reclamation. Vessels within the dry dock would be serviced by 3 to 4 cranes. Figure 1: Layout showing western reclamation with the General Cargo Figure 2: Layout showing reclamation with Shipyard Scenario Scenario (the pink area is the berth pocket) (the pink areas are the berth pockets) 6 Brown NZ Ltd April 2021 Figure 3: Layout of the proposed dry dock under the Shipyard Scenario In addition, Northport is proposing the separate, eastern expansion outlined in Section 1 of this report. This would occupy most of the Marsden Bay Beach area, with Areas 4 and 5 covering a combined area of approximately 17.1ha. Again, the new berth surfaces would marry with the hard standing of the current port. Figures 4 and 5 (overleaf) illustrate the configuration of the Eastern Reclamation and its proposed use. It is important to note, however, that the Eastern Expansion application will only address Area 5, as Area 4 comprises the Berth 4 area that was consented in 2004. It effectively comprises part of the ‘existing environment’ within which the effects of both the Western and Eastern Expansions must be assessed and evaluated. 7 Brown NZ Ltd April 2021 Figure 4: Layout showing the footprint of eastern reclamation and wharf in grey. Note the gap to the east is the already consented but not constructed Berth 4 Reclamation (4.3) and wharf (270m). Figure 5: Artist impression of a container terminal on the eastern reclamation The Eastern Reclamation would also add the following components to Northport’s current ‘structural inventory’: STS Cranes: would load and unload ships, moving containers from the wharf deck to the ship and vice versa. The proposed crane is a super post-panamax size, similar to the newer Port of Tauranga (POT) 8 Brown NZ Ltd April 2021 STS cranes (Photograph 1). Up to 8 of these STS cranes could be used, each having the following general dimensions: • Height in operational mode (boom down, to top of apex) 81m • Height in storage mode (boom up, to top of boom) 106.5m Photograph 1 Super Post Panamax STS at POT Gantry Cranes & Container Stacks: that would be employed to store containers on site while they are waiting to be picked up or loaded.