Camp ground victory

Timeline

Yachting New Zealand has dramatically abandoned its sevenyear effort to build a sailing hard stand on Takapuna beach at the last minute.

All it took was a short email from Yachting New Zealand (YNZ) chief executive, David Abercrombie, to DevonportTakapuna Local Board chairman, Joseph Bergin, 40 minutes before the start of the July 19 local board meeting.

The email stated YNZ is formally withdrawing its application for landowner consent for a hard stand on Takapuna reserve 2010 YNZ expresses interest in Takapuna reserve land

2015 Public poll of 7800 finds 80% want to keep campground

19 July YNZ abandons reserve lease minutes before board meeting

land. ’’Whilst recognising this has been a contentious issue, YNZ believes that more work needs to be done in assessing the viability of a camp ground and hard stand operating together on the Northern Reserve,’’ Abercrombie wrote.

YNZ had been expected to apply for lease of 1050 square meters of Takapuna reserve land in a joint arrangement with North Shore Waka Ama Incorporated.

For years, YNZ had failed to obtain a larger lease that would overtake the entire Takapuna Beach Holiday Park.

‘‘One positive out of this whole sad episode is to show what a bloody fantastic community we’ve got here in DevonportTakapuna,’’ Save Takapuna Beach Holiday Park organiser, Gavin Sheehan, said.

Local board members expressed a mixture of regret and relief.

‘‘Do you believe YNZ was interested in one of Winston Churchill’s more famous quotes ‘don’t take no for an answer’?’’ board member, Jan O’Connor, asked.

‘‘We should learn from the history of this,’’ local board deputychairman, Grant Gillon, said of community opposition.

The board resolved they wouldn’t consider additional uses of Takapuna beach reserve land before a new lease of the Takapuna holiday park was granted. However, if a new land owner consent from YNZ did occur it is unlikely the local board would outright dismiss it. Abercrombie was contacted for comment.

TOM DILLANE/FAIRFAX NZ Grant Gillon Save Takapuna Beach Holiday Park organisers, Jan Gopperth and Gavin Sheehan, outside the Takapuna reserve land they helped preserve.