Central Wharves Masterplan development

The Central Wharves Masterplan will seek to unlock some key challenges and opportunities that Auckland has been grappling with for many years, such as creating a more suitable base for cruise ships, separating cruise from ferry activities, allowing Queens Wharf to better fulfil its role as a public wharf, activating the Admiralty Promenade breastworks, and delivering a Papa Kōkiri as envisaged in the City Centre Masterplan.

The masterplan will be developed in partnership with mana whenua and informed by engagement with local boards, key stakeholders and interest groups, and the public.

Eke Panuku has led a cross-council working group to prepare the Port Precinct Framework Plan which it delivered to the Governing Body to help Councillors consider what might be possible if port activities were relocated or operating on a reduced footprint.

The Framework Plan investigated potential opportunities for the site if port operations were to withdraw in stages. It provides:

• A high-level proposition around long-term possibilities for the full port precinct - 85 hectares of land, wharf and waterspace from Hobson Wharf Extension in the west to Fergusson Wharf in the east.
• More detail around the potential opportunity for the first stage of development, which is the central wharves – Queens, Captain Cook and Marsden wharves, the Hobson Wharf Extension and the Admiralty Steps Boulevard.

The Framework Plan forms the platform for the next step – a masterplan for the central wharves.

The initial phase of the work focused on the potential vision alongside the opportunities and constraints of this waterfront site. The land is complex because it is historically reclaimed and contains industrial wharves. A key component has been working with staff from across the council group, including POAL, to understand the quality of the existing port and wharf land, the future of cruise, and other opportunities and challenges for regeneration.

Eke Panuku presented initial conceptual plans for a potential staged redevelopment of the port precinct to the Governing Body at a workshop in July 2023.

Now that the Auckland Council Governing Body has approved its proposed Long-term Plan 2024-2034, the next step will be for Eke Panuku to set up a project team to deliver this work.

We will  develop a masterplan for the first stage of land release, the Central Wharves – Queens Wharf, Captain Cook Wharf, Marsden Wharf and Hobson Wharf Extension. This will also include the waterspace and associated breastworks that run next to the red fence – the Admiralty Steps Promenade.

Eke Panuku will work with a cross council working group, including Port of Auckland, to develop the Central Wharves Masterplan over several years. The process will involve:

• working in partnership with mana whenua, taking a similar approach to that used for our Te Ara Tukutuku project.
• a community engagement and consultation process to engage Aucklanders and a range of waterfront and city centre stakeholders on this significant city shaping initiative.

We look forward to sharing more on the masterplan process as it develops.