Sat, 21 Nov 2009 5:41p.m.
By Adam Hollingworth
After seven years of legal wrangling, Prime Minister John Key finally opened the controversial Whangamata marina.
Opponents are still smarting from the decision, and say the town is still divided.
It has been a war of swinging fortunes for originals like Ross Mercer, who signed up for a berth back in 1992.
"Well worth the wait," says Mr Mercer.
The marina's guiding hand was Mick Kelly, who says most locals were always on board.
"It's going to be a real economic boost, already had an effect on real estate here and its just amazing to see the public walking through here and buzzing, its really good."
But not everyone's happy. Paul Shanks, a surfer and environmentalist, is worried that other recreationalists will be forced out.
"The marina is going to bring income, but what is sacrificed to get the income?" he asks. "Five hundred surfers a year learnt to windsurf in what is now the marina basin, so that income is gone, the ski lane is gone, so the passive recreation in the area, that's gone, the people came to watch the godwits fly in from Russia."
Two notable absentees are the former Environment Minister Chris Carter, whose veto was overturned by the courts and the local iwi who've been against the marina from the inception.
But Mr Key believes changes to the Resource Management Act mean other projects like this will take less time.
Already there are several marina developers queuing up to take advantage of that change.
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