PORTS OF AUCKLAND: Ports of Auckland will not appeal the High Court decision which revoked resource consent for its proposed wharf extensions.
Tony Gibson, the company’s CEO, said this afternoon that the port will not appeal the decision to halt the Bledisloe wharf extensions.
“While the decision causes us some problems with consenting and our ability to accommodate more and longer ships, we feel that appealing this case would not produce a sustainable resolution to those issues,” he said.
“We will now look to Auckland Council’s Future Port Study to help find workable, long-term solutions to Auckland’s sea freight needs.”
He said the port still had an “immediate need” to accommodate larger ships at the general cargo wharves and discussions will commence with customers and stakeholders to find possible short-term solutions.
“We have made no decision yet on whether or not to reapply for consent for the B2 extension,” he said.
Campaign group Urban Auckland fought against the expansion and argued the council didn’t follow proper process when giving resource consent for a 100m extension of the wharf.
The port obtained the consents without notifying the public or city councillors, but claimed it was not necessary at the time.
Mr Gibson added container operations at Fergusson Terminal are not affected by the decision, while several new initiatives are expected to be announced in the coming months.
