Oamaru Harbor Master Plan on Display

The long-awaited Oamaru Harbor master plan is set to go out for public consultation, reports Otago Daily Times. 

A draft of the 30-year plan for the harbor will be tabled at a meeting of the Waitaki District Council’s harbor area committee later this week, where its members will consider a recommendation the full council firstly adopt the draft plan, then put it out for public consultation.

Draft proposals at the start of July last year were met with a public outcry over the apparent direction of the plan.

Proposals for public consultation initially ranged from least ambitious to most ambitious and commercial development was seen to outweigh the community’s desire to preserve the atmosphere of the popular area, according to the Otago Daily Times.

The 46-page document outlines the major projects planned at the harbor and breaks down how much they are estimated to cost.

Several projects are listed on a work program and include harbor dredging and a breakdown of maintenance and other planned works to be done on the harbor’s major assets.

The plan is scheduled to be adopted at the end of June.