Wildlife too precious for music events
Residents concerned about an influx of music festivals around the Tomarata dune lakes near Te Arai have rare birds at the lakes to thank for a bit of peace and quiet.
Property owner Arnim Pierau runs chalet accommodation on his property on the edge of Lake Spectacle, and has run two ‘Ship Wrecked Open Air’ music festivals over the past couple of years. Attracting hundreds of people, these events have caused some tensions in the quiet rural area.
Last year Pierau applied for a resource consent from Auckland Council to up the number and size of these events substantially but was turned down by independent commissioners.
An appeal to the Environment Court asked for five festivals of 3000 people, two for around 500 people and 20 for 200 people – a total of 160 festival days annually until 2031.
While noting concerns by neighbours, the Environment Court also turned much of the proposal down citing concerns the noise could have a detrimental effect on rare wildlife at the lakes.
The smaller 200 people events, could take place but not as music festivals, with no amplified noise allowed.
Spectacle Lake is one of three dune lakes in the area. While it is considered to have poor water quality caused by nutrient runoff from surrounding farm land, it is home to many rare birds.
The court found the dune lakes had ‘significant conservation value’ as habitat to a range of threatened birds and plants especially the Australasian bittern and fairy tern. Bitterns breed around the lakes and, with 500-600 birds left, and are considered nationally endangered.
The fairy tern nests at nearby Te Arai stream and feeds over the waters of both Slipper and Spectacle Lakes during summer. With just 40 birds left their status is nationally critical.
Pierau still has consent to run his three day ‘Ship Wrecked Open Air’ festival.
But the court also seems to query if council planning rules should have been broad enough to allow music events at the lakes at all.
‘We ... wonder aloud for the benefit of those in the council who make planning policy, whether the permitted temporary activity rule is rather too much in ‘‘blanket’’ shape when it comes to sensitive receiving environments like the present [Tomarata lakes].’