A proposal is at the working stage, and comments can be submitted until 6 August before it is considered by the local council. At the meeting of the Planning and Building Committee on 13 June 2024, it was agreed to present the proposal at the draft stage in parallel with the presentation of the environmental assessment report. The proposal was referred for presentation to the Town Council and the Harbour Board. The rationale for the changes is to improve the harbour facilities at Straumsvíkur Harbour. By expanding the harbour and creating a new building area within the harbour area, the capacity of the Hafnarfjörður harbours to accommodate more vessels will be increased. Excavation will be carried out mainly from the Rauðamel quarry, as this quarry is considered most suitable due to its proportion of coarse aggregate and its proximity to the construction site.
Comments open until 6 August.
The following changes are made to the master plan: Straumsvíkurhöfn (H4) is expanded and Rauðamelsnáma (E4) is expanded. The environmental assessment report was published for consultation on 17 May and is available on the Planning Authority's website. In this phase, a proposal at the working stage is presented. On 29 December 2023, the previous amendment to the general plan came into effect, but due to changed circumstances, the phased development will be abandoned in favour of a comprehensive redevelopment of the harbour. This change entails a revised delimitation of the harbour area and an increased material requirement for land reclamation. The planning statement for the general plan revision placed particular emphasis on the strategic framework for Straumsvík Harbour. It stated, among other things, that the planning process would include a policy on the expansion of Straumsvík Harbour, which would involve an analysis of options, needs analysis, scope, access and accessibility, development areas for harbour-related and transport activities, and connections to the industrial area south of the Reykjanesbraut. This work is in accordance with the proposed objectives for employment, which are also set out in the planning statement for the review of the local plan, which is that Hafnarfjörður will continue to emphasise a diverse port operation that will be a centre for transport and port-related activities in Hafnarfjörður and the surrounding area. Hafnarfjörður has decided to prepare a separate amendment proposal concerning the Straumsvík harbour and related projects, which emphasises taking advantage of the synergies between the environmental assessment for the harbour's expansion and the projects carried out by Carbfix.
All data can be accessed in the Planning Portal of the Planning Authority.
A recording of the press conference on 20 June 2024 is available here.