7. WHO IS GOING TO BE AFFECTED BY THIS PROPOSED MARINA?

 

Existing users of the harbour precinct:-

 

  •  Those using the beaches and foreshore – family groups, dog walkers and picnickers using Mothers Beach, Shire Hall Beach and Scout Beach . 

 

  •  Swimmers and paddlers needing pollution-free and safe water which is not being continually dredged or have boats sailing or motoring into it. 

 

  •   Disabled sailors

 

  • Divers using facilities in and around the  Harbour and Pier;

 

  • Recreational fisher people  may not be able to access easy fishing spots and may have their favourite spots removed because of fences, gates and new jetty arrangements. Fish life may be disrupted.

 

  • Those boat owners opting not to take up a very expensive berth within the proposed marina will only have the option of choosing between the 8  sheltered fore-and-aft moorings close to shore, and the 12 swing moorings which lie outside the protection of the pier and the proposed marina structures.

 

  •  Marine rescue and emergency vessels which are proposed to be located in the inner berths of the proposed marina may be obstructed by boats maneuvering in the proposed marina. 

 

  • Commercial fishing boats and dive boats requiring access and safe moorings will have restricted access to the safe parts of the  Harbour.

 

  • Visitors needing casual mooring of boats in the harbour – there will only be 10 public short-term berths.  

 

 

  • Boats entering the Harbour from southerly and westerly directions will no longer be able to round the end of the Pier and travel directly towards the public boat ramps, but will have to travel around the outside of the Marina, then on between the Marina and the shoreline. This will be extremely hazardous during stormy northerly to westerly weather as boats will be travelling broadside-on to waves approaching the beaches, with severe risk of being overturned. 

 

 

  • The residents with properties facing the  Harbour and with views across the beaches and   Harbour  will be faced with views of a 4m. high concrete wall  running  across the Harbour, with massed  boats in pens, rather than the picturesque scene of yachts swinging freely in unison on swing moorings, as above. 

  

 

  • Boat owners who cannot afford Marina costs and who will be forced to use the exposed swing moorings proposed to be provided east of the Marina, rather than have a choice of the less exposed  swing moorings currently available;

 

  •  The boats berthed in pens alongside the pontoon nearest the Marina wave screen (the first to be built) may be subject to wave bashing from waves overtopping the wavescreen during severe northerly storms.

It is understood that refuelling pumps will be placed on the Pier side of the proposed new public jetty on a pontoon – which means many visiting motor boats as well as yachts from the Marina will fill up there and this could lead to increased risks of spills as well as increased fuel slicks and fumes.
Beachgoers needing shade and clean sand will be faced with walls of reinforced concrete rising up to 4m above sea-level, and a mass of moored boats blotting out their views to the north.

 

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