Beginning late November, Nelson City Council will undertake work on the Hardstand at Nelson Marina to ensure it is operating as efficiently and effectively as possible for those who use it, and the environment.

Council was issued an abatement notice for the Hardstand in March this year, due to consent requirements not being met.

In order to be compliant, the Hardstand area needs to be sealed with asphalt and a new sand filtration system installed, replacing the current mussel shell system.

Work is expected to begin on the Hardstand in the last week of November, and take about four weeks to complete.

There are six bays currently in operation at the Hardstand. The consented area for the Hardstand covers an area the size of just two bays. Council has applied for a consent variation to allow six bays to continue to be used once work has been completed.

To minimise disruption to berth holders and commercial operators who use the Hardstand, six temporary bays will be available for use inside the fenced area to the West of the existing Hardstand. They will remain operational for the duration of the works and/or until the consent variation is granted.

Group Manager Community Services Roger Ball said Council officers had been working as swiftly as possible to rectify the issues identified.

“We hope that in opening up the temporary bays, disruptions will be minimised. This is important work that must be carried out, and once it is complete will result in an improved space for Hardstand users.

“However, we acknowledge that the work might cause some delays so we encourage anyone who has work due to be done on their boats to get them booked in at the Hardstand before the end of November. December is typically a busy time at the Hardstand so if you can, get your work done and out of the way before the rush. We’ve written to berth holders to let them know.”

Council and Nelmac, who are responsible for managing the Marina, travel lift and Hardstand, have created a Standard Operating Procedure to minimise environmental effects until work on the Hardstand can be completed.

Any work carried out in the temporary space must not create environmental contaminants. This means activities are limited to dry-sanding with a vacuum and using a geotextile drop cloth. No wet sanding can take place, nor can work be carried out in wet weather.

Nelmac will be overseeing use of this area to ensure breaches of the terms of use do not occur.

The works are estimated to cost $700,000, taken from capital expenditure allocated in 2020/21. These costs will be updated once we move further into the design process.

Ball said once the Hardstand is compliant, Council officers will be able to move to the next phase of work, which is to seek a new consent to upgrade the Hardstand further.

“The design for the long term upgrade will make improvements to how stormwater and wastewater are managed and see the Hardstand expand from six to 22 bays by 2029.”

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