December 27, 2017
Te Mata Peak walkway scrapped
Craggy Range Winery has bowed to pressure from Ngati Kahungunu and neighbouring residents and agreed to remove a walking and cycling track from a Hawke's Bay landmark.
It says after discussions with Mana Whenua and other concerned groups it decided the best resolution is to remove the track up the eastern side of Te Mata Peak, restore the land and return it to the previous owner.
The peak is known to the iwi as Te Mata o Rongokako, named after the grandfather of Kahungunu.
The company bought the land and built the $300,000 track after receiving a non-notified consent from Hastings District Council.
The Environmental Defence Society welcomed the move, saying its legal analysis showed the application should have been publicly notified because of its national importance both as an outstanding landscape and as a feature of cultural significance.
Chief executive Gary Taylor says the consent decision was also likely to be ruled invalid because the council failed to apply the correct legal tests.
The society congratulated Craggy Range on both its approach and its resolution of the dispute.
It also called on the council to review its consenting processes.
Mr Taylor says when development occurs on private land that affects the wider public, there should be a clear presumption in favour of notification and engagement.
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