Mercury Bay Boating Club’s mission to relocate its clubrooms is a step closer to completion.

The Department of Conservation confirmed a panel hearing of submissions were held in Whitianga on Wednesday at Aotearoa Lodge.

DoC received a proposal from the club to establish and operate a community facility on land at Dundas St, Whitianga.

Through a publicly notified process forming part of decision-making, DoC sought submissions on the club’s proposal.

Each submitter had 10 minutes to speak to their submission, followed by questions from members of the panel.

Mercury Bay Boating Club commodore Simon Rawlinson confirmed the hearing was held in Whitianga on Wednesday.

Rawlinson also confirmed the club had secured a ground lease for the footprint of a container at Buffalo Beach Reserve in Whitianga.

The board accepted the report on Wednesday and agreed to a ground lease.

The club has a 40-foot container, which through agreement with the Thames-Coromandel District Council, was placed on part of the Buffalo Beach Reserve to allow the junior sailing programme to continue following the Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 which badly damaged the land currently leased to the club.

The arrangement was temporary; however, after one and a half years, the club requested a further 12 months while they secured a permanent location.

The club wanted to set up shop in Whitianga’s Dundas St after its old facility was left teetering on the water’s edge as ex-cyclone Hale eroded metres of foreshore. It has since been moved 25m inland.

In December, the club launched an application to relocate its clubrooms to the site with DoC which informed them in March that the matter would follow a publicly notified process.

Mercury Bay Boating Club reached out to the Mercury Bay Community Board in hope of gaining support.

Following discussions with the community and feedback received during public drop-in sessions, the board decided not to make a submission to DoC, since there was “no clear consensus within the community regarding the proposal”.

Dundas St was identified as the only suitable alternative in the area for a number of reasons, including proximity to the water and location close to the town’s marina.

The club’s first application to relocate the clubrooms was lodged with DoC in December 2023. In January, they were told it could be between six and nine months before they would hear back.

In its application to DoC, the club proposed leasing an area of 2374sq m, bounded by the Whitianga Harbour on one side and Crown Land leased by the Whitianga Marina Society on the other.

“The proposal would not unduly restrict public access to the reserve or boat ramp,” the club says.

Submissions on the Mercury Bay Boating Club’s application closed on May 9.

Ideally, the club wanted to stay at the current site, but there were ongoing threats of erosion, which would make the facility uninsurable.

The original clubhouse was officially opened in 1997.

DoC application process

After submissions close

• DoC analyses and considers all submissions.
• A hearing is held if there have been requests to be heard by the director general. If submitters have expressed an interest in presenting their submission at a hearing, they are contacted by DoC.
• DoC will analyse and consider information raised at the hearing.
• DoC will make a recommendation to the Minister of Conservation.
• The Minister of Conservation will make a decision on the application.