Auckland Council is denying it deliberately kept expansion plans for the city's port from the public, as users fear what it will do to their harbour.
It has been proposed that container space is extended 250 metres into the harbour gradually over 30 years.
However, there has been a grim warning about how the Auckland waterfront could look in years to come.
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Alex Swney of the business association Heart Of The City says there will be large "S" class container vessels carrying 7000 containers and 90-metre tall cranes on the wharf if the proposed expansion of the port goes ahead.
Swney said the expansion will see the entrance to Waitemata Harbour looking more crowded.
"Well over 50% of the view shaft we've got down to our harbour would be obliterated," he said.
The proposal seeks to progressively add 18 hectares to the port, which is responsible for more than a third of the country's trade.
It would be an additional 180,000 square metres, or twice the area of the city's Victoria Park, and about 16 times the size of Eden Park.
The expansion will need resource consent before going ahead.
'Let's say no'
Swney said the port's plans are buried in technical documents supporting the Auckland Draft Waterfront Plan.
Heart of the City is urging Aucklanders to find out more about the plans - which it says are going through Auckland Council without a full public debate - and is starting an information campaign called Your Port Your call.
"We're saying to council let's say 'no' to this plan now and let's see if there's any other alternatives to getting more out of the footprint the port's on now," Swney told TV ONE's Breakfast.
"New Zealand and Auckland need a successful port, but there's
many more agendas than just parking containers and imported cars on
your waterfront. There's a tourism income to be derived from our
beautiful harbour."
Part of the plan is for the port to sell Captain Cook Wharf back to
the city, in return for consent, but Swney said the offer is "a
joke", when around 16 Captain Cook wharves would fit into the area
the port plans to expand on.
The plans have been available for several months and have been open for consultation since October. The council is set to discuss the responses next week and could agree to the proposals in March.
However, Swney said there is still time for people to make their thoughts heard and hopes the new images his group has created will spur the public to react.
'No immediate development'
Those who run the port say it is not a plan for immediate development, but a sign of intent for harbour space it already owns.
"That's the area in the legislation that's been there for about
20 years already tagged for potential port development," said
Catherine Etheridge, Ports of Auckland Spokesperson.
Mayor Len Brown said the expansion plan is "something that we will
consider in months but more likely the years ahead".
Brown said the plan relates to "potential development over the next 40 years" which he says he's sure will be refined over time.
"A working port is critical to the health of Auckland's economy and it must be able to grow within its current development zone to cope with projected demand," he said.
"Auckland and Tauranga are both projected to reach capacity in the near future and if we want a growing economy we will need efficient ports that don't create bottlenecks."
The council says there will be public input into developing the plan.
A Facebook and Twitter campaign has been started today for Aucklanders to have their say on the proposal.
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