Marine management area conversation begins

Apr 1, 2025
2 min read

Updated: May 20

Worser Bay Boating Club has kicked off a community conversation about establishing a voluntary no take zone around the club as part of a Worser Bay marine management area, along with a set of ideas to improve the recreational amenities at Worser Bay.

Ten information panels are prominently displayed on the side of one of the sheds at the club, outlining what is proposed to be put in place at Worser Bay and describing the projects that local school children have underway to restore the marine ecosystems at Worser Bay.

The projects described in the panels have been incorporated into Tātou Ki Uta, Wellington City Council's Coastal Reserves Management Plan. The policies and actions in the plan for Worser Bay are:

Management policies

Work alongside Te Herenga Waka o Whetūkairangi (Worser Bay Boating Club) in exploring opportunities for storytelling, and community-driven marine restoration initiatives like the NZL Blue Belt project, and their other aspirations for this area, while ensuring alignment with council priorities and environmental policies.

Actions

Seek coastal engineering advice to assess the Te Herenga Waka o Whetūkairangi (Worser Bay Boat Club) proposals for dune restoration, ramp, and boardwalk development at Worser Bay
Install interpretative signage at key cultural and ecological sites, including at Kākāriki Hūtia Pā to enhance public understanding of the sector’s history and significance
Restore historic names by renaming the unnamed Worser Bay lawn area to Kākāriki Hūtia Reserve.
Support the long-term resilience of the Worser Bay dune system by continuing restoration efforts, ensuring recreational activities and infrastructure are designed to minimise impacts, and allowing space for natural dune expansion.
Balance recreation and environmental management at Worser Bay by enabling space for sailing, wind-powered water sports, events, and surf lifesaving activities while not making too much of an impact on long-term dune restoration and coastal resilience.
Support an integrated approach to managing the Worser Bay lease cluster, fostering collaboration between the yacht club, surf club, scout hall, and other recreation groups, including through applying Te Awe Māpara principles to enhance collaboration.
Recognise and interpret the historic sites of the Eastern Bays sector, including at Worser Bay by integrating cultural narratives into reserve management, signage, and storytelling initiatives.

Conceptual designs

Work has started on creating concept designs for the dune restoration and amenity work proposed for Worser Bay. A design brief has been created to guide Victoria University School of Architecture in creating concepts which will be used to help with the consenting processes. You can review the design brief by downloading the following PDF.

Feedback sought

We are seeking feedback from the community on the proposals. This feedback can be given at any time through the following link. A promotional campaign for feedback will begin in September 2026 once the concept designs have been created, but if you can't wait for that then feel free to submit your feedback now.

https://www.wbbc.org.nz/moanamana.

We look forward to getting your feedback and thank you for taking the time to engage in the conversation.

Downloadable versions of the community conversation panels