Graeme Wall, of Sawyers Bay, said Port Otago’s plans to turn Back Beach into a large-scale recreational reserve were misguided and limiting to members of the public.
"The biggest user of Back Beach is Joe Public, who then just disappears into the distance and isn’t known of, isn’t seen, has no voice because they’re not an incorporated society club or a Port Otago or a council. They are the biggest users of Back Beach. They have no voice."
He was particularly concerned about the creation of a new beach.
"It’s the bit that goes black first when the sun goes down.
"The sunniest part is the ramp and all around that area. They want to get rid of that public ramp."
Mr Wall is a life member of the Port Chalmers Yacht Club, but said he was speaking in his personal capacity.
Mr Winders said the regional council had tasked the company with looking at options for the area several years ago and the plan was an attempt to start a conversation.
"Being the port, we get lots of people that just contact us and effectively look for a recreational yachting berth ... obviously there’s a bit of a shortage in the harbour of good recreational berths for both yachts and cruising and fishing boats.
"We’ve got a beautiful harbour and access to a good launch pad, but the land aside to be able to park a trailer and vehicles is relatively limited [at the moment]."
Mr Winders said the plan envisaged opening up the area to a variety of users.
"They could launch fishing boats from that Back Beach location and then have recreational yachts and vessels in the marina that could lease a berth from Port Otago and have easy access to that."
The creation of a new sandy beach at the far end of Back Beach would make it easier for families and young people to enjoy recreational activities in the area.
"Going back in time, we’ve been told that before Port Otago reclaimed that Back Beach piece of land, that the beach was sandy.
"So it’s a mixture of trying to provide an amenity to the community, provide the fishing recreational users better access to our harbour and have a modern marina that we could use for visiting vessels or permanent vessels."
Port Otago would continue to discuss its proposal with the city and regional councils, with an aspiration for it to go out for public comment should the councils believe it feasible.
He could not give a projected price for the project yet.
"I think the Back Beach is our vision as Port Otago.
"I’d love to be kicking off this project in due course to provide a really cool amenity for the future and Sandy Beach for the residents to go around there and picnic and enjoy it like they used to."
