Latest news with #OrientalParade
NZ Herald
2 days ago
- Business
- NZ Herald
Rock pool plan at Ahuriri Beach: Backers confident of getting $20m development across the line
The feasibility report on the development was finished on Friday and the trust will present to Napier City Council on Thursday as part of the Future Napier Committee. Trust chairman Graham Duncan said the study had 'come up really well' but couldn't be shared in full with Hawke's Bay Today at present due to its commercial sensitivity. 'I'm delighted with the document.' The design concept for the Ahuriri rock pool development. Photo / Supplied The projected cost for the development is currently $20m. Duncan said the development would not be put to the newly formed Napier Citizens' Assembly as a potential replacement for the city's aquatic centre. However, he said the trust would be asking Napier City Council and Hawke's Bay Regional Council for $2.5m each – $5m total – to build it, with the rest of the money 'coming from outside'. Duncan has received letters of support from Hawke's Bay Tourism CEO Hamish Saxton and former Napier MP Stuart Nash for the project. He said the pools would be encircled by 80,000 tonnes of rock from Haumoana, which would create walkways into the water of Ahuriri and provide a sheltered swimming spot in the bay. He claimed the water inside the pools could be heated up to 43C by using natural tectonic processes that existed on the nearby Napier fault line and said wells had been dug that had proved it could work. A regional council spokesperson said they had records of more than 4000 wells drilled across the Heretaunga Plains and none had reported geothermal water, or naturally heated water from deep within the earth. 'On this basis, it is highly unlikely that natural geothermal water exists at or near the proposed rock pool site,' the spokesperson said. 'However, if evidence were ever found, it would make a wonderful natural resource for Napier.' Duncan said the rock walls had been designed to protect the beach and were created and designed using historic tide data and coastal movements going back 10 years. He said if the pools, rock walls, or some form of erosion control wasn't introduced to the area, there could be consequences. 'If we don't have this, in eight to 10 years' time we won't have a beach,' Duncan said. 'That's the predication of the tidal movements.' As part of the development, there would also be a high-density fountain with a laser projector, similar to the one in Wellington's Oriental Parade installed in the bay. Duncan said Ahuriri's would be triple the size and include moving images in its projections. 'The whole area will be lit up from that,' he said. 'If you're up on Napier Hill and you look down to Ahuriri, you'd see all this amazing light.' There will also be terraced seating by the pools, an observation deck installed at the current Boardwalk Beach Bar and Bistro building, a new information centre near Perfume Point, a ticketing kiosk, and 1000 tonnes of gold sand shipped up from Nelson as part of the project. He said the project was the brainchild of former Napier City councillor Ivan Wilson, and first obtained approval from the Napier City Reserves manager in 1995. However, Wilson passed away two weeks into the building process, and there was no one to carry on the project. Duncan said he would create a monument to the man as part of the development. What do Napier's Mayoral candidates think? Kirsten Wise: I support the Ahuriri Rock Pools Development, subject to the outcome of the feasibility study the trust has undertaken and funding being secured from sources other than council. Richard McGrath: If constructed, it would give our community a safe sandy beach to swim at and provide visiting families the same. Personally, I think it's a great community project. I'd support a smaller toned-down plan where the lane pool was removed. Noting that we already have to protect the shoreline with rocks, basically reshaping the rocks could have huge benefits for the community. I would be interested to see what community support it gets. Nigel Simpson: The Rock Pools as a public amenity would be a great facility for our coast, provided the trust behind this concept can provide assurance that there will be no burden on ratepayers. While it's great that members of our community are promoting this concept, in the current climate with the fiscal constraints, I wouldn't support a proposal to fund the project in council's Long Term Plan. The main issue public rock pools like these experience is the continuous risk of algae forming and the walking surfaces, particularly disabled access ramps, becoming extremely dangerous to walk on. The Newcastle rock pools in New South Wales are shut for a day each week for cleaning. Jack Riddell is a multimedia journalist with Hawke's Bay Today and has worked in radio and media in Auckland, London, Berlin, and Napier.
NZ Herald
04-07-2025
- Climate
- NZ Herald
Napier ice swimmer Davey Jones - what I gain when I dive into the chilly depths
It hit him somewhere near the ribs. A deep, creeping grip of doubt and cold that wouldn't let go. Napier man Davey Jones was nearly a kilometre from his destination, swimming parallel to Oriental Parade in Wellington Harbour. The 9°C water wrapped around his body and although he was
RNZ News
13-05-2025
- Automotive
- RNZ News
Wellington Council cops flak after damaged car sits in carpark for week
Photo: RNZ / Jazlyn Whales An abandoned car, which has sat damaged across multiple car parks on a busy Wellington street for more than a week, is due to be towed Tuesday. The silver sedan has broken windows, no plates and a piece of police tape wrapped around it, and is parked diagonally across two spaces by Waitangi Park on the corner of Oriental Parade and Herd Street. The police said, as the car wasn't blocking a roadway or posing a risk to the public, it was not their jurisdiction to tow it, but the Wellington City Council's. The council told RNZ on Tuesday as it wasn't a traffic safety hazard, it had been giving the owner of the vehicle time to organise its removal - but it had become clear that wasn't going to happen. The plan was to tow it and put it into storage that day. Local resident Jose Ubiaga said he had first seen the car a week ago, and he walked past it each morning. "I just assumed it would be there for a couple of days, not thinking a week later it would still be sitting there, damaged, taking up two parks, and looking like an eye-sore," he said. His post on social media had garnered a lot of angry comments from other Wellingtonians. He said it wasn't a good look. "It's little things like this that degrade our city, and don't help us at all," he said. "It's crazy that it's still there." Councillor Ben McNulty had responded to social media discussion about the car online, and said he had sent a "please explain" request to council staff earlier on Tuesday morning. Photo: RNZ / Jazlyn Whales He said it was clear they were aware of the car, as there was a yellow sticker on the windscreen. Usually, they waited a period of 48 hours for the owner to make contact, and then towed the vehicle. "It's just a billboard for council looking like it hasn't done it's job, because it hasn't on this one," he said. "You couldn't have put it in a much more prevalent spot in Wellington if you tried." But the council said as the car wasn't posing a safety risk - although its location had meant it had attracted a high amount of public interest - it had given the owner some extra leeway to remove it themselves. "It's obviously become clear that the owner isn't willing or able to do the job so we'll do it and aim to recover costs."
RNZ News
13-05-2025
- Automotive
- RNZ News
Wellington Council cops flak as after damaged car sits in carpark for week
Photo: RNZ / Jazlyn Whales An abandoned car, which has sat damaged across multiple car parks on a busy Wellington street for more than a week, is due to be towed Tuesday. The silver sedan has broken windows, no plates and a piece of police tape wrapped around it, and is parked diagonally across two spaces by Waitangi Park on the corner of Oriental Parade and Herd Street. The police said, as the car wasn't blocking a roadway or posing a risk to the public, it was not their jurisdiction to tow it, but the Wellington City Council's. The council told RNZ on Tuesday as it wasn't a traffic safety hazard, it had been giving the owner of the vehicle time to organise its removal - but it had become clear that wasn't going to happen. The plan was to tow it and put it into storage that day. Local resident Jose Ubiaga said he had first seen the car a week ago, and he walked past it each morning. "I just assumed it would be there for a couple of days, not thinking a week later it would still be sitting there, damaged, taking up two parks, and looking like an eye-sore," he said. His post on social media had garnered a lot of angry comments from other Wellingtonians. He said it wasn't a good look. "It's little things like this that degrade our city, and don't help us at all," he said. "It's crazy that it's still there." Councillor Ben McNulty had responded to social media discussion about the car online, and said he had sent a "please explain" request to council staff earlier on Tuesday morning. Photo: RNZ / Jazlyn Whales He said it was clear they were aware of the car, as there was a yellow sticker on the windscreen. Usually, they waited a period of 48 hours for the owner to make contact, and then towed the vehicle. "It's just a billboard for council looking like it hasn't done it's job, because it hasn't on this one," he said. "You couldn't have put it in a much more prevalent spot in Wellington if you tried." But the council said as the car wasn't posing a safety risk - although its location had meant it had attracted a high amount of public interest - it had given the owner some extra leeway to remove it themselves. "It's obviously become clear that the owner isn't willing or able to do the job so we'll do it and aim to recover costs."
RNZ News
13-05-2025
- Automotive
- RNZ News
Wellington Council cops as after damaged car sits in carpark for week
Photo: Supplied / Jazlyn Whales An abandoned car, which has sat damaged across multiple car parks on a busy Wellington street for more than a week, is due to be towed Tuesday. The silver sedan has broken windows, no plates and a piece of police tape wrapped around it, and is parked diagonally across two spaces by Waitangi Park on the corner of Oriental Parade and Herd Street. The police said, as the car wasn't blocking a roadway or posing a risk to the public, it was not their jurisdiction to tow it, but the Wellington City Council's. The council told RNZ on Tuesday as it wasn't a traffic safety hazard, it had been giving the owner of the vehicle time to organise its removal - but it had become clear that wasn't going to happen. The plan was to tow it and put it into storage that day. Local resident Jose Ubiaga said he had first seen the car a week ago, and he walked past it each morning. "I just assumed it would be there for a couple of days, not thinking a week later it would still be sitting there, damaged, taking up two parks, and looking like an eye-sore," he said. His post on social media had garnered a lot of angry comments from other Wellingtonians. He said it wasn't a good look. "It's little things like this that degrade our city, and don't help us at all," he said. "It's crazy that it's still there." Councillor Ben McNulty had responded to social media discussion about the car online, and said he had sent a "please explain" request to council staff earlier on Tuesday morning. Photo: Supplied / Jazlyn Whales He said it was clear they were aware of the car, as there was a yellow sticker on the windscreen. Usually, they waited a period of 48 hours for the owner to make contact, and then towed the vehicle. "It's just a billboard for council looking like it hasn't done it's job, because it hasn't on this one," he said. "You couldn't have put it in a much more prevalent spot in Wellington if you tried." But the council said as the car wasn't posing a safety risk - although its location had meant it had attracted a high amount of public interest - it had given the owner some extra leeway to remove it themselves. "It's obviously become clear that the owner isn't willing or able to do the job so we'll do it and aim to recover costs."
