Plan to block road access to Cape Palliser 'gem' due to vandalism
South Wairarapa District Council wants to close access to a paper, or unfinished, road that leads to the Cape Palliser coast line due to continued vandalism and destruction.
The road passes through private and Crown land before ending at the rugged beach.
The council said native flora and fauna in the area has been damaged by four wheel drives, quad bikes and campers, who are also a fire risk. The area included wāhi tapu sites — ancestral burial grounds and historic pā settlements.
"Council has engaged with local hapū, Ngāti Hinewaka and have agreed the continued vandalism, disrespect to the land and its owners and the poor social behaviours displayed are not acceptable," South Wairarapa District Council said.
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If the proposal to block road access goes ahead, there will be no overland route to reach that part of the beach.
Michael Gunson first surfed White Rock along that part of the coast in 1976.
Gunson told RNZ it was a popular surf spot but really hard to get to, even with the paper road open. He said if the road wass shut, there would be no access for the general public.
"It's a gem, it really is a gem. It's on par with Castle Point, as far as I'm concerned, as far as dramatic landscapes go," he said.
While Gunson understood where the council and landowners were coming from, he wanted to work to find a solution.
"I am not going to defend clowns in any way, shape or form. What I think that needs to be done is some good consultation, some good kaupapa shared with the landowners, DOC and the council, and we need to work this out," Gunson said.
He said they needed to find out how to maintain public access in a way that minimised damage to the coastline.
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Gunson said said there could be signage and education around how to respect the landscape, and encourage others to report bad behaviour when they saw it.
He said there had been a lot of opposition to the council's proposal as it sparked a lot of attention among surfers online.
"Not everybody that goes there is a vandal. They go there out of deep respect for the beautiful, wonderful coastline," he said.
The South Wairarapa District Council, in a statement to RNZ, said there were 2139 online submissions about the proposal so far.
The council said the proposed bylaw was being developed using powers under the Local Government and Land Transport Acts but acknowledged that restricting walking access to the paper road would not be legally enforceable.
However, that right of access didn't extend to the adjoining private land, and council was responding to issues raised by the hapu around ongoing damage to land bordering the paper road.
It said the consultation provided an understanding of what level of access the community felt was appropriate – balancing the need for safe public access with respect for adjoining landowners.
South Wairarapa District Council was accepting feedback on the proposal until August 19. It said all feedback would be reviewed before a final decision would be made.
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