Ports of Auckland Ltd joined its owner, Auckland Council, yesterday in accepting the High Court decision which revoked resource consent for the Bledisloe wharf extensions.
Port company chief executive Tony Gibson said after the board met yesterday the company wouldn’t appeal the High Court decision – but also didn’t rule out reapplying for consent.
Justice Geoffrey Venning ruled last Friday that Ports of Auckland’s resource consents to extend Bledisloe Wharf should have been notified. Because they weren’t, he set them aside.
Mr Gibson said yesterday: “While the decision causes us some problems with consenting and our ability to accommodate more & longer ships, we feel that appealing this case would not produce a sustainable resolution to those issues.
“We will now look to Auckland Council’s future port study to help find workable, long-term solutions to Auckland’s sea freight needs.
“We still have an immediate need to accommodate longer ships at our general cargo wharves and we will talk to our customers & stakeholders to try to find possible short-term solutions. We have made no decision yet on whether or not to reapply for consent for the B2 extension.
“Our container operations at the Fergusson terminal are not affected by this decision and continue to thrive. Over the coming months we expect to be able to announce a number of exciting new initiatives to improve that part of our business further.”
Link: Judgment, Urban Auckland, The Society for the Protection of Auckland City and Waterfront Inc v Auckland Council and Ports of Auckland Ltd
Earlier stories:
19 June 2015: Judge sets port extension consent applications aside
6 June 2015: Boven to head port study
15 May 2015: Ports study format approved, and politicians will be outside the door
9 February 2015: Council gets second of competing reports on wharf use
Attribution: Company release.
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