What this plan covers

This plan is about the waterfront itself – the Council-owned land and buildings along the water. It is part of a wider effort to link the city to the sea, and sits alongside the City Centre Revitalisation work. The streets between the city centre and the start of the Waterfront area are a separate piece of work, and are not covered here.

Plan of the waterfront from Collins Street to Victoria Road, showing walking and cycling routes, carparks and the old buildings
The waterfront as it is today – where people walk and cycle, where cars park, and where the old buildings are. Draft Masterplan, Irving Smith Architects.

The plan covers the waterfront from Collins Street, by the building formerly occupied by Reliance Engineering, south to Victoria Road. The Council owns ten parcels of land along this stretch, including the Anchor Building, Custom House and the NCC Electricity Building. Other land along the way belongs to other people. The Council cannot change those places on its own. It would need the owners to agree.

What walking along the waterfront area feels like now

Today the path from Collins Street to Victoria Road runs right beside the highway. Large trucks rumble past on their way to the port, close enough that it does not feel safe for young families. You walk in front of the heritage buildings, then pick your way around the carparks, and then you are pushed back out onto the roadside to get past the NCC Electricity Building. It is not easy, and it is definitely not friendly.

Three priorities

Everything in the plan is drawn from three priorities. They come from the work of the Waterfront Taskforce and previous investigations. They answer three different questions: how do people get here and get to the water, what is there for them when they arrive, and in what order should it all be done.

These three priorities are interconnected. That is why a single plan covers them all.

1

Connectivity

Getting there, and getting in

The shared path. Access to the sea. Better carparking. Access to buses. More places to cross the highway safely.

Today the route is broken and unsafe in places, and for a city built on its harbour there are surprisingly few places to get into the water.

2

Activation

Reasons to stop and stay

Community use. Cultural storytelling. Vacant buildings brought back into use. Public space to enjoy the waterfront. Water access. Visible activity in the area.

Custom House is a rare survivor – an Edwardian hotel, the last of those that served the port. The Anchor Building is on the Heritage New Zealand List. Both sit empty.

3

Coordinated development

Doing it in the right order

Planning the projects and working with the constraints. Keeping the design consistent across the whole area. Sequencing the work. Working with our partners.

It also means spotting opportunities – investors, the blue economy, visitors – and safeguarding places just beyond the current boundary that could come into play later.

These three priorities come straight from the Draft Masterplan. Every question in this document sits under one of them, and each is labelled so you can see which one is relevant.
Concept image of wide steps leading down into the sea with people sitting on them
New steps into the sea. Concept picture, not a final design.
Concept image of the waterfront route at dusk with people walking and parked cars
The waterfront route at dusk. Concept picture, not a final design.