Losing greenspace and access to the Tauranga Harbour are some of the reasons people are opposed to reclassifying part of Marine Park for education purposes.

Supporters say it is a 'no brainer” and a marine facility would have wide reaching benefits for the Bay of Plenty.

Tauranga City Council is proposing to change the classification of 7000m2 of land at Marine Park in Sulphur Point from recreation reserve to local purpose reserve.

The change will enable a marine research and education facility to be built by the University of Waikato in future.

This is the second attempt to enable the build, the council sought to revoke the reserve status in 2018, but it was blocked in July 2020 by then Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage.

Now the proposal is to retain the reserve status but reclassify six per cent of it.

On Monday, the council held hearings after a month of consultation on the reclassification.

There were 323 submissions to the council with 65.9 per cent in support of the reclassification, 33.4 per cent were opposed and 0.6 per cent were neutral.

Submitter Ron Pinkham labelled the university selfish for wanting that particular piece of land.

'It's self-serving and I feel that it's egotistical and a complete lack of attitude towards people of Tauranga in pursuing this application.

'If this goes ahead it is potentially denying the people of Tauranga the opportunity of having this reserve developed in the way it was originally set out and intended.”

Pinkham questions if the university really needs that that specific site.

Peter Jones told the commissioners Tauranga is 'very lucky to have that greenery” next to the port, because not many ports have a big grass reserves alongside them.

'Don't go taking the last bit of green grass we've got over near the port and bung a building smack in the middle of it,” says Jones.

'I know it's a reserve and it's being kept as a reserve, but I don't think you should put buildings on it.”

He was also concerned the facility would take up space that is used for parking cars and boat trailers during peak times when the other carparks are full.

There is a boat ramp in the Marine Reserve and the green space is used as overflow parking when required.

An aerial view of proposed area for reclassification. Photo: Supplied/ Tauranga City Council.

Geoff Hambling has a trailer yacht and uses the boat ramp regularly.

He says the facility is already struggling to cope, without buildings on it, especially on weekends.

His main concern is continued access because the boat ramp provides access to water deep enough to launch boats on any tide.

'Being a boating person, what I can tell you is that the really critical part about that land is not even the area or how much land it is. It's where it is,” says Hambling.

'It is the only remaining piece of deep water access that is available to the public.”

During the submission hearing on Monday, council advised it has set aside funding in the long term plan for a new six lane boat ramp at Marine Park.

Not everyone is opposed to the reclassification.

Mount Maunganui College teacher Jim Critchley says use of the space as a marine science and education facility is a 'no brainer”.

'To have a space like this, that not only the university students will use, but now we can get school students through I think it's going to be amazing for the area,” says Critchley.

Commissioner Shadrach Rolleston asked the science teacher if the facility will support the education of his students.

'100 per cent,” says Critchley.

He says University of Waikato chair of coastal science Professor Chris Battershill has already had some of his college students through the current facilities.

Priority One chief executive Nigel Tutt. Photo: Salina Galvin photography.

Priority One chief executive Nigel Tutt says the Western Bay of Plenty economic development agency 'strongly supports” the change in classification.

Tutt says the facility will enable research of environmental factors and marine biotechnologies.

'This is an economy that is high growth, but low value and it's really, really important that we can grow value in our economy.

'Marine will be increasingly important for New Zealand as we face challenges, for environmental reasons, with the other ways that we farm our land.

"The study of marine environments for food, nutritional supplements, fertilisers, bioactives, and the like is really important to increasing the value of the economy.”

Tutt says there are already businesses 'springing out” of the research the university does at its current Sulphur Point facility.

'That's something that we want to encourage in the future.”

Local Democracy Reporting contacted the University of Waikato to respond to people's concerns raised at the hearings.

University of Waikato senior deputy vice-chancellor Alister Jones says the university hasn't been involved in the reclassification process or lobbied the council during it.

If the reclassification is confirmed, the university will still have to put a bid in to lease the land and meet the criteria set by the council, says Jones.

'The planned facility would be a world-class marine research and education facility for Tauranga, allowing valuable, practical and cutting-edge research to be carried out.

'This will help address major climate change issues within the marine environment while aiding development in the agritech space.

'The public would also be able to access the centre with education for the wider community a key focus.

'It'll be a high tech marine learning environment for the general public as well as the research facilities.”

University of Waikato senior deputy vice-chancellor Alister Jones. Photo: Supplied.

He said the current rented facilities aren't fit for purpose and the university, Tauranga City Council and Bay of Plenty Regional Council have all looked for areas where the facility could go.

'There are very limited opportunities,” says Jones.

He says the proposed site has good public access, water deep enough to launch boats and easy access to salt water for aquariums.

'It is a fantastic opportunity. We have long wanted to be able to deliver world-class marine research and teaching in the Bay of Plenty.”

If the facility wasn't built at Sulphur Point the university would have to go to Whakatāne for a suitable site, says Jones.

In response to the comment the university is 'selfish”, Jones says: 'This facility is the absolute antithesis of selfish”.

'It becomes a public asset as opposed to a university ivory tower.

'The university has worked hard over many years with the Tauranga City Council, iwi, community and local stakeholders to find a solution that is fit for the future and that will grow marine and coastal research, attract more students into science, educate the public and ultimately have a positive impact on our environment, including climate change.

'Universities are there for the community, we're there as a public good.”

Deliberations are set for July 25, where the council will either confirm or abandon the reclassification.

-Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air