New Chums purchase boosted by $200,000 Waikato Regional Council grant

An aerial of the 30ha of land at New Chum/Wainuiototo Bay in the Coromandel sold by Mortgagee Tender.

Waikato Regional Council has granted $200,000 towards the purchase of New Chums Beach, a 30-hectare block of magnificent coastal beach and headland at Whangapoua on the Coromandel.

The council also agreed to consider a further $200,000 to the project in the next funding round in December.

The New Zealand Coastal Trust purchased the land to protect its incredible natural values and will place a covenant over it to prevent any development. The trust, mana whenua, and local groups were able to raise $275,000 toward the purchase from public fundraising in just one month.

This land is one of the most loved and appreciated pieces of untouched natural coastal land not only locally but regionally and even nationwide and globally.

Denis Tegg, WRC councillor

Thames-Coromandel representative on the regional council, Denis Tegg, says he's delighted.

"This land is one of the most loved and appreciated pieces of untouched natural coastal land not only locally but regionally and even nationwide and globally.

"Lonely Planet voted it one of the top 10 unspoiled beaches in the world. Holidaymakers from around the Waikato treasure this place.

"Now, the public will have unrestricted walking access to this amazing environment and have the security that the land will never be developed. I'm proud that the regional council has made this substantial contribution, and helped secure this incredible landscape for the public to enjoy."

The land has outstanding natural character and is part of a nationally significant natural area. It contains high botanical diversity and has populations of threatened Hochstetters frog and North Island brown kiwi.

Tegg said the purchase will have a rating impact for one year of $1.45 per ratepayer covering the entire amount. The council's Natural Heritage Fund is $5.80 per ratepayer of the Waikato per year, which brings in some $800,000 annually.

The fund was established in 2005 to protect and manage, in perpetuity, special places of ecological significance.

Priorities include the preservation of access to waterways and the coast, as well as protection of biodiversity, heritage sites and landscapes of significance to the community.

To date, the Natural Heritage Fund has been used for a wide range of projects including Maungatautari Ecological Island Trust, Waipa peat lakes reserves and the purchase of the Ed Hillary Hope Reserve.