Northport had applied for a raft of resource consents related to a major expansion.
Photo: Supplied

Northland’s port company is appealing a decision to refuse consent for a major expansion, saying the commissioners made a series of errors when they ruled it would have serious adverse effects on cultural and recreational values.

Northport had applied to the Northland Regional and Whangārei District Councils for a raft of resource consents, including for an almost 12-hectare reclamation, a 250-metre wharf extension, and 1.7 million cubic metres of dredging.

The container terminal would have been built between the existing port and Channel Infrastructure, a fuel import facility, where there is currently a publicly accessible beach.

Northport has lodged an appeal in the Environment Court.
Photo: Supplied

In a decision released last month, independent commissioners said having a dedicated container terminal at Marsden Point, at the entrance to Whangārei Harbour, would bring economic and social benefits to Northland.

However, they also said the reclamation would have significant adverse effects on the cultural values of tāngata whenua, on recreation, and on public access to the coast – and those effects would not be sufficiently offset by Northport’s proposed conditions.

The decision to refuse consent was decried as “disastrous” and “a terrible outcome” by Northland MP Grant McCallum, but hailed by local hapū Patuharakeke as “correct and clear” and a rare vindication of their concerns.

Now Northport has lodged an appeal in the Environment Court, specifically around the commissioners’ findings on cultural and recreational values and public access.

In its notice of appeal, Northport said the commissioners appeared to have accepted Patuharakeke Te Iwi Trust Board’s submissions without careful evaluation, effectively granting the hapū a veto.

The commissioners had also placed too much weight on Patuharakeke evidence that Northport claimed was factually incorrect or related to separate legal processes, such as the Marine and Coastal Area Act.

The commissioners had not recognised that New Zealand required a national port network, so their decision did not properly balance conflicting needs and policies.

Northport’s appeal also stated that national and regional planning documents supported port-related development at the precise location proposed.

“This genuinely is a case of, ‘If not here, then where?’,” the notice of appeal stated.

Patuharakeke Te Iwi Trust Board has been contacted for comment.

No date has been set for the appeal as yet.