DOC Gives Consent for Wakeboard Park Lease at Aotea Lagoon

The lease for a proposed wakeboard cableway at Porirua's Aotea Lagoon has just been approved by New Zealand's Department of Conservation.

Along with the commercial wakeboard cableway, the lease to Aquacom NZ Ltd includes a cafe, pro-shop and office for a period of nine years with two rights of renewal for six years.

The consent is subject to:

• The conditions of lease set by PCC
• The applicant getting the necessary resource and building consents
• Council and the applicant discussing the option of having one multipurpose building as opposed to two separate buildings
• The consent to the granting of a Reserves Act lease shall not prejudice or affect the rights of the Director-General in relation to any position that the Director General may take with regards to any resource consent application that may be made by Council or Aquacom Ltd in respect to the construction and operation of the proposed activity.

Council Manager Leisure Assets and Services Karyn Stillwell, says the decision by DOC confirms that the process the Council has followed under the Reserves Act 1977 has been sound, stating "the only variation to the lease proposal is for Council and the applicant to discuss the option of having one building on the lagoon site for this activity.

"When we consulted on the proposal in April/May 2010, the Council received over 1100 submissions and these were also taken into account by DOC in their decision to grant consent. This effectively ends the Reserves Act process stage for this proposal."

The applicant (Aquacom NZ Ltd) must now look towards submitting a Resource Consent application and initiating the Resource Consent process under the Resource Management Act, says Environment and Regulatory Services General Manager David Rolfe.

Rolfe stated "in the interests of transparency and impartiality, an independent commissioner will be appointed to determine whether or not the Resource Consent will be publicly notified."

The Building Act process will also need to be initiated for any buildings proposed.