13. Use of the Coastal Environment Volume One Ports and marinas Marlborough’s existing ports and marinas are located within the sheltered waterways of the Marlborough Sounds and are important for the social and economic wellbeing of the District. Facilities at each port and marina span the water and land interface and contain reclaimed areas of the coastal marine area, some of which are significant. Three substantial marinas have been established at Picton, Waikawa and Havelock. These provide important landing, storage and loading facilities for residents of the Sounds and important access points to the Sounds for many non-resident boat owners. The marinas provide for a variety of boat-related and commercial activities and support facilities. Marinas also contribute to the amenity and attraction of the Marlborough Sounds and the towns within which they are located. The deep water port of Picton, which includes Shakespeare Bay, plays a critical national role in the transportation of people and goods between the North and South Islands. The passage of vehicles and people through the port is closely related to the economic activity of the town’s commercial and accommodation activities. Picton is an export/import port that acts as a base for commercial fishing vessels, marine farming and fishing activities and provides facilities that enable people to access the Marlborough Sounds. Recently it has also become a popular port of call for cruise ships. Being located in an estuarine environment, the port and marina at Havelock limits the draft of vessels able to access the port/marina basin. Havelock has become the primary service port for Marlborough’s marine farming industry and is the primary access point for tourism, forestry and other commercial activities in the area. It is also an access point for residents and other landowners in Pelorus Sound. Two other locations within the Marlborough Sounds - Elaine Bay in Tennyson Inlet and Oyster Bay in Port Underwood - provide facilities for the commercial loading/unloading of marine farming and fishing produce, but on a limited scale. From these locations produce is transported elsewhere (in Marlborough and beyond) for processing. In addition, a Port Zone has been included at Clifford Bay. This Zone is undeveloped but was applied in the former Wairau/Awatere Resource Management Plan for the construction and operation of a interisland ferry terminal in the vicinity of Marfells Beach. Central government announced in November 2014 that it was not proceeding with the development of the interisland ferry terminal at this location. The current landowner has indicated a desire to develop port facilities at the location but in the absence of details any proposals for development of port facilities will be assessed against all the provisions of the MEP. Issue 13J – It is important that Marlborough’s existing ports, port landing areas and marinas continue to contribute to community economic and social wellbeing. The existing port infrastructure at Picton and Havelock (and latterly at Oyster Bay and Elaine Bay) has been built up over many years. Today these facilities are owned and operated by Port Marlborough New Zealand Limited, a company established in the late 1980s as a consequence of local body reform to succeed the Marlborough Harbour Board. Port Marlborough also owns and operates the marinas at Picton, Havelock and Waikawa. The ports and marinas at Havelock, Waikawa and Picton (as they exist or as they have been approved at the time the MEP becomes operative) have been identified as regionally significant infrastructure in Chapter 4 - Use of Natural and Physical Resources. This reflects the function of 13 – 46