Fresh off the news last week that Vice-Chancellor Neil Quigley has stored enough cash away for a rainy day that we don’t care what the TEC do (our take, not his) came the news that we have just leased land for a marine facility in Tauranga.

The University secured a 99–year lease on the sulphur point location for 1.4 million dollars. Now the plan is to build a Marine facility.

The Marine Research and Education Facility will replace the university’s Coastal Marine Field Station and include research laboratories, classrooms, and public engagement spaces.

Quigley was excited by what our new Marine Facility would mean.

“The University signed a lease with Tauranga City Council for a new marine research and education facility in June last year”, Quigley said.

“This facility will provide a permanent home for our marine science programme, which is growing in popularity. It will allow it to grow and enhance the overall reputation of the University and our Tauranga campus. It will also provide a wider economic, educational and research benefit for the community, region and the country. The cost of the lease is spread over a number of years.”

“We have a Campus Development Plan that sets out the long-term investment programme and principles for new facilities, remedial works to refresh and modernise our current facilities, and planning across both campuses for the next 15 years to improve the quality and utilisation of our spaces.”

“Making investments in new facilities is an important part of planning for the future and to continue attracting students, meeting demand and student expectations.”

Apparently, the opportunity to establish a marine facility at Sulphur Point had first been discussed in 2017. This led to what could lovingly be mischaracterised as a difference of opinion between the council, which tried to revoke the reserve status to enable development, only for Green MP (Then Conservation Minister) Eugenie Sage to block the move.

This caused a two-year delay and ultimately led to the council reclassifying all 7000sqm of the land as local purpose before putting it all to tender. As it happens, the University was the only applicant to submit a bid.

However, as with our other recent stories, the University isn’t making these moves quietly.

University of Waikato Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Alister Jones told a council meeting that he had been working with Coastal Science Chairman Professor Chris Battershill for 12 years to find a permanent home for marine science programmes. 

And the result would be something “truly unique” for Tauranga

“There wouldn’t be another place like this globally,” Jones said.

And while this is an environmental story in an environmental issue, the fact is that our University makes bank. So yes, this will enable the University to focus on sustainability, but according to Professor Jones, it would also “contribute significantly to the economy”.