Wellington Airport will begin making use of land acquired from Miramar Golf Club next year by creating a new car parking area immediately east of the airport.
The new space is needed to relocate car park capacity due to other works taking place around the airport precinct.
Work will begin in February 2024 and is likely to take up to 12 months to complete. The area is 300 metres by 90 metres and will include landscaping and boundary treatments to improve its visual amenity.
Miramar Golf Club are currently re-arranging the course layout so that 18 holes are still available to golfers until January 1, 2025, when Wellington Airport takes full possession of the remainder of the southern part of the site.
There are no immediate plans for how this additional land beyond the new carpark will be used yet, and any future development is likely to involve community consultation and happen gradually in stages over time.
As part of this transition, Wellington Airport will be consulting the community next year on a landscape buffer area with attractive new green spaces. This could include new plantings, walkways and cycle paths.
Wellington Airport purchased the 12.9 hectares of land covering the back nine holes in 2019 and secured a designation for airport purposes over the site in 2022. This designation authorises Wellington Airport to carry out works and activities for airport purposes in this area.
Wellington Airport general manager commercial Richard Dalby says Wellington Airport needs extra space to prepare for future demand and new aviation technologies.
“We currently operate on a very small space – just 110 hectares, compared to 1400 hectares for Auckland Airport and 850 hectares at Christchurch Airport.
“We’ve managed to squeeze every bit of efficiency we can out of our current space, and now we have to start responsibly preparing for the future.
“Wellington’s population is growing with 200,000 extra people expected to live in the wider region in the coming decades which will increase demand for travel.
“The requirements for airports will also be changing with new and more sustainable forms of aviation in development, like electric aircraft and alternative fuels.
“We have to start preparing for these changes now so that we can keep providing the vital connections and infrastructure Wellington will need in the future.”
