Te Arai locals say access to
Developer hits back after group submits 6000-signature petition
Acommunity group from Te Arai, north of Auckland, has claimed public access to a popular surf beach is under threat but developers say changes won’t bar people from the beach and Auckland Council says all consents issued are legal.
Aaron McConchie, the chairman of Save Te Arai, said more than 6100 signatures were on a petition which is today going to Auckland Council opposing non-notified decisions on Pacific Rd, Mangawhai.
But a spokesman for Te Arai North, which has developed the Tara Iti luxury golf course and is working on a new housing estate, rejected McConchie’s claims and said a vast new public park had enhanced the public’s enjoyment of the area.
“Pacific Rd is a Crown easement through a privately owned forest. Access is guaranteed. Moreover, we gifted over 200ha of land to create a public reserve and protect Te Arai beach,” the spokesman said.
“Public access is already guaranteed along Pacific Rd and the public — including the Save Te Arai group — were consulted on and agreed with minor changes to the configuration of the road into the carpark in the public reserve area in a consultation meeting last May.”
Despite several complaints to the council by McConchie, the spokesman said, none had been upheld. The project had protected a beach, set up a reserve, enshrined public access, planted more than 1.3 million native trees and plants, undertaken a major pest eradication programme, and created a large number of jobs.
Penny Pirrit, the council’s regulatory services director, said no council committee had the authority to revoke resource consents.
“The Resource Management Act advises if any group has concerns about the consent process undertaken, that they must apply for a judicial review of the process at the High Court,” Pirrit said.
“The development at Te Arai underwent a prolonged plan change process and an Environment Court hearing. The [court] set down the rules on how the approach to the Te Arai development should occur. [They] are now being implemented through consents and the council is closely monitoring [that],” she said.
But McConchie said the group wanted council decisions overturned. “Public access to this iconic surf beach is under threat due to private development being carried out by Darby Partners acting for United States billionaire Ric Kayne.”
The development covered about 600ha and included an 18-hole golf course, more than 40 luxury house sites and an airstrip, he said.
Save Te Arai, whose members lived on both sides of the border of Auckland and Northland, wanted the council to reverse actions undertaken with developers Darby Partners without due process and diligence, McConchie said. He said the council’s disregard of local opposition and special favouring for private overseas investors’ interests over those of the public had to stop.
“The petition asks the council to reverse previously non-notified decisions that directly influence public access and the public reserve at Te Arai as well as making Pacific Rd, which is currently a public access easement, into a public road,” McConchie said.
But the Te Arai North spokesman said McConchie had “grossly misrepresented the situation”.
“Public access has been increased significantly since the forest was acquired from Carter Holt Harvey in 2002. Over 200ha of beachfront and riparian land worth tens of millions of dollars has been gifted as reserve to Auckland Council. This was never done as a trade for credit against development levies as he asserts.
“He has been demanding that we widen the access easement into the carpark from the existing 6 metres — the normal width of the road — to a full 50 metres, which is twice the width of a four-lane motorway. The easement is already widened to the required average 50 metres.”