Quay St makeover: Withdrawn appeal clears way for downtown public space

Thursday, 21 November 2019

How Auckland's waterfront will change by the 2021 America's Cup.

New public space planned for Auckland's downtown waterfront has dodged a deadline-threatening planning appeal, and should be ready before the America's Cup sailing regatta in 2021.

The City Centre Residents' Group withdrew its appeal to the granting of resource consent after mediation with Auckland Council, which hopes the space extending over the water near the Ferry Building, will be a popular feature of the waterfront.

An appeal would have put at risk the project being completed on time.

A new public space will be built out on piles by Quay Street to replace the former QE2 Square

The group's chair Noelene Buckland said the decision to withdraw, recognised the vested interests in the project, although the group remained opposed to any further incursion into the harbour.

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'The Quay Street Public Space is another one off, ad hoc development that does not fit with the proposals of the Waterfront Plan 2012 that was agreed with the people of Auckland following a lengthy consultation exercise,' said CCRG in its appeal.

The public space on the harbour side of Quay St between the Ferry Building and Princes Wharf, will include gardens, and replace ferry piers.

It is one of a raft of downtown upgrades with tight construction timeframes which the council is hoping to have ready by the end of 2020, ahead of the America's Cup.

Buckland told Stuff that following mediation with the council she hoped a more thoughtful process would be followed in the further development of the harbour's edge.

'We will be having closer workings with council in terms of getting some long term strategy for the whole waterfront,' she said.

She said with the council's earlier Waterfront Plan, now rolled into the wider City Centre Master Plan that is up for development, there is a process to avoid other ad hoc decisions.

'We have got to have a long term view, we really need to see earlier engagement,' she said.

The CCRG was not happy with other proposals such as a mooring 'dolphin' to be built off the end of Queens Wharf to accommodate longer cruise ships there, and the pressure on that wharf that will come from having new ferry berths added to its western edge.

The council said the full programme of lower downtown upgrades was still on track to be completed by December 2020, including the public space, the Quay St redevelopment, and the rebuild of the harbour end of Albert St which had been dug up for the first stage of the City Rail Link tunnels.