An updated concept plan and estimated costs for the development of the Port Ōhope wharf area has been approved by the Whakatāne District Council’s Projects and Services Committee, prior to targeted consultation with key stakeholders and the community.

The concept plan for the area was first developed in 2006, following extensive community input, and a total budget of $1.685 million was set aside in the Council’s 2015-25 Long Term Plan to allow the project to be completed by 2021. Following the development of the Seascape subdivision and the Bob Byrne Reserve on the opposite side of Harbour Road, landscape architects Boffa Miskell were asked to review and revise the original concept and provide ‘rough order costs’ for discussion with the community.

Key components of the revised concept plan include:

• Realignment of the access road with Charles Street and construction of a new roundabout
• A new pedestrian crossing and walkways connecting Bob Byrne Reserve and the Ōhope Wharf reserve
• Access and parking upgrades
• Redevelopment of the existing (eastern) storage shed as a multi-use community space
• Demolition of the existing public toilet and construction of a new facility attached to the community space
• Construction of a nautical-themed central public plaza linking to the wharf facility
• Installation of a terraced seating area, deck and wheelchair-accessible ramp connecting with the harbour edge
• Upgraded amenity and street lighting

A new outdoor seating area is also envisaged in conjunction with the existing restaurant, to be developed by the operator.

The revised costing for the concept plan development (including physical works, resource consent and professional fees and a 30 percent contingency allowance, but excluding the proposed roundabout at the intersection of Harbour Road, Charles Street and the wharf reserve access road) is $2.1 million.

The wharf reserve area is currently vested in the Council as an ‘active reserve’. As part of the development process, it will be classified as Recreation Reserve and Harbour Purpose Reserve, in accordance with the Reserve Act 1977.

Feedback on the concept plan will now be sought from stakeholder groups and recreational users, with a view to incorporating the proposed developments in future Annual Plans.