Pile Mooring Redevelopment

Changing demand FOR BERTHAGE

Pile moorings have traditionally been an important part of Westhaven Marina, as an alternative to floating berths. More recently however the moorings which are only accessible via dinghy, have becoming increasingly underused and nearly half sit empty. At the same time there has emerged a growing need for berths over 14m in length throughout Auckland. In recognition of these trends, Panuku Development Auckland is looking to build new marina berths in the waterspace currently occupied by approximately half of the pile moorings. The project will be conducted in two stages.

These berths will be 16, 18 and 20m in length. Ultimately the first stage of the project will convert 103 low occupancy pile moorings, which must be accessed by dinghy, into 117 modern serviced berths that owners can walk to.

All long term pile berth customers are expected to be accommodated in a reconfigured pile berth facility in the north-east corner of the marina, and to facilitate access for deep drafted boats to the northern entrance, the channel will be dredged to -3.7m.  

Causeway extension 

In the first stage of the project the Northern section of Westhaven Marina will be extended to provide green space for public use, access and carparking for the new serviced berths to be constructed.

The causeway will be created by extending the existing northern reclamation using a process of mudcreting where dredged marine sediment is mixed with concrete before being used to construct the new land area.

Studies show that the closure of the smaller secondary entrance to the marina will reduce sedimentation within the marina and will enable dredging of both fairways and berths to maintain access for deep drafted vessels, in particular modern race yachts that make Westhaven home. The project includes the relocation of Westhaven’s famous ‘start tower’ for racing to a more eastwards location further from the Harbour Bridge.

Design of the headland

Auckland region’s Iwi have contributed their expertise and knowledge of the local area to the concept behind the design of the headland, which will be a new and special place to visit for all Aucklanders who want to enjoy the experience of visiting and connecting with the Waitemata Harbour, while also providing access to the new piers, and carparking facilites for berth holders. 

ENtrance closure 

A key part of the project's first stage will see the closure of the smaller of Westhaven’s two entrances, the Western entrance. This will mean all vessels entering and exiting the precinct will use the northern entrance.  

While this means a slightly longer commute down the fairway for some vessels, it is believed that that it will generally improve navigation safety within the marina, even allowing for the potential development of new wharves at Wynyard Quarter West, which sits on Westhaven’s eastern edge.

The entrance closure has been forecasted for some time via the Westhaven Plan and consultation has been conducted with various marina stakeholders, in recognition of the change this will mean for berth users accessing the marina. Navigation studies conducted here into the impact and current access routes show the change can be readily managed and once done will lead to a much needed increase in Westhaven’s capacity.