PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Curio Bay Tumu Tokais a small remote coastal settlement in Southland, best known for its petrified forest and resident yellow-eyed penguins, seals and Hector’s dolphins. It is a major attraction within the Catlins, with around 100,000 visitors per year. The popularity of the area has led to pressure on the environment, and a need for new sensitively designed infrastructure to protect the unique environment, provide for an improved visitor experience, and to educate visitors about the area.

Visitor related environmental issues led to three key parties –South Catlins Charitable Trust (SCCT), Southland District Council (SDC) and the Department of Conservation (DOC) –agreeing on a shared vision for the area. Each party identified a project they wished to progress to provide a better experience for tourists to the area whilst addressing effects on the environment. SCCT proposed development of a Visitor Centre (a long-held community goal, SDC a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) and DOC an amenity upgrade incorporating a new carpark and toilets.

CLIENT BRIEF/PROJECT CHALLENGES

• Progressing separate territorial authority and regional council resource consent applications for individual but highly connected infrastructure projects
• The consenting process posed a unique challenge, as each project needed to progress separately but all were intimately interrelated and would not be successful without the others. The Visitor Centre required adequate parking and wastewater servicing, the WWTP needed to accommodate the high tourist influx in peak season, and the amenity upgrade included new toilets which relied on the upgrade of the WWTP.
• Respecting and being cognisant of the important ecological, recreational, archaeological, cultural and outstanding landscape values of the area and the high local profile of the project.
• The collaborative nature of the project, and addressing the requirements and different end goals of three distinct organisations with a shared vision to address environmental effects and improve visitor experiences at Curio Bay Tumu Toka.

OUR SOLUTION

WSP used an innovative approach to planning techniques:

• Early development and use of a Concept Plan detailing all three projects and the physical linkages between them provided a future ‘vision’ of the area. This became a critical tool for client understanding and early consultation with the community and iwi prior to the resource consent stage.
• All three parties used WSP for each resource consent applications, enabling efficiencies, alignment, and integration of the applications. This approach also reflected the collaborative nature of the projects and the aims /goals of the respective organisations.
• Site specific approaches for mitigation of potential adverse environmental effects were identified and agreed given the close working relationship between the parties. For example, ensuring no build periods during yellow eyed penguin breeding season and extensive landscape planting and treatment

OUTCOME/CLIENT BENEFITS

The outcome of the collaborative project has been the successful obtaining of resource consents and the construction and opening of three significant visitor related infrastructure projects in Curio Bay Tumu Toka. The resource consent applications for each development provided the process through which the respective collaborators addressed the potential effects of each development and developed specific approaches for mitigation.

This allowed a unique and collaborative approach to project construction further mitigating effects in this sensitive location.The Visitor Centre is a community driven project aimed at enabling and improving visitor access and experiences while providing educational services on local wildlife and attractions. The SDC project focussed on provision of wastewater servicing for a relatively remote un-serviced rural settlement experiencing high visitor numbers. The DOC amenity upgrade focussed on improving visitor experiences whilst avoiding and mitigating potential effects on wildlife and the environment.

LIST OF PRIMARY SERVICES

• Resource Consent application and management
• Management of ecological, recreational, archaeological, cultural and landscape values
• Design and management of water treatment facilities
• Road and carparking design
• Subdivision development

KEY FACTS

The project provides an example of collaboration between three organisations with a shared vision seeking specific environmental outcomes in a highly sensitive environment. The project has achieved the needs of each organisation and improved overall amenity and visitor experiences. The development of new infrastructure has enabled the collaborators to address the adverse effects of high visitor numbers on the natural environment while improving and enhancing the physical environment. This collaborative project has advanced protection and conservation of the natural and physical resources of Curio Bay Tumu Toka.