Martin Street Boat Harbour Upgrade

The Martin Street Boat Harbour is located near the Ballina town centre and has a rich maritime history, heritage values and scenic views of the Richmond River.

The facility is on Crown Land and Transport for NSW – Maritime is the Crown Land Reserve Manager.

The Martin Street Boat Harbour Precinct Master Plan was adopted by Council in 2016. The master plan identifies a need for an expanded marina to meet demand for short term/overnight mooring and enhance public open space along the waterfront.

Council has completed investigations to progress the master plan using funding from the NSW Boating Now Program.

Hydrosphere Consulting was engaged to conduct preliminary engineering investigations, develop options and a concept design, cost estimate, and planning pathway considerations. Relevant government agencies, existing lease/licence holders, user groups, emergency services and businesses directly using the harbour were consulted.

The concept design

The Martin Street Boat Harbour Upgrade – Concept Design aims to provide increased on-water boat storage and on-shore facilities and services to support marina tenants, while also improving public access and engagement with the marina.

The revised concept includes:

• Expanded marina with 49 berths (25x12m berths and 24x16m berths).
• Tender/dinghy mooring area.
• Public day-use mooring pontoon (boats under 4m).
• Washing facilities, water and electricity supply, and waste management.
• Formalised car parking and creation of additional new spaces.
• Harbour services and amenity building
• Option for another mixed-use building, depending on demand.
• Refurbished rock revetment and beach nourishment.
• Landscaping to enhance open space along the waterfront.

The current harbour basin is shallow and only suitable for small vessels. The proposed concept design includes dredging the inner harbour to a bed elevation of -3.0m AHD and the outer fairway and berths to minimum of -4.0m AHD to improve safety and navigability and allow for use by a greater range of vessels.

The proposed redevelopment is estimated to cost close to $25 million. Council will be seeking funding to deliver this project.

Throughout June and July the community was invited to review the Concept Design and Planning Pathway report and provide feedback on the proposal. Submissions are now closed.

Council will consider community feedback and report the findings to the July 2024 Council meeting.