Council urged to learn from Te Mata Peak track controversy

The controversial Te Mata Peak track. Photo/Duncan Brown

Issues around the proposed Hastings district plan and whether it adequately protects the outstanding landscape qualities of Te Mata Peak will be discussed in a workshop next month that will include both the council and members of its Maori joint committee.

The plan came under the spotlight after the construction of a walking track on the eastern face of Te Mata Peak late last year, with the council criticised in an independent review for not considering the cultural significance of the area before granting a resource consent to Craggy Range winery to undertake the work.

In an effort to address the gaps in the district plan, the Maori joint committee would join the council at the workshop to discuss any changes or variations to the plan to avoid such a situation in the future, as well as the consultation process around any changes.

At a meeting yesterday, committee members welcomed the opportunity to participate in what some described as the beginning of the healing process following the track's construction, that came as a shock to many.

Committee chairman Robin Hape said before the resource consent was granted, the committee was not consulted for advice, and he said he first became aware of the track when it featured in the media.

He said the issue had put the council in remediation mode and that, apart from hui with whanau at Waimarama, the upcoming workshop would be the first opportunity to take what had been learned and discuss potential changes to the plan.

Committee member Evelyn Ratima talked about the significance of Te Mata Peak to local iwi, and also the importance for council to learn from the controversy surrounding its construction.

"We have to carry the scars, we have a right and duty to look after our taonga," she said.

"Just about every hapu around here relates to Te Mata - we need to be spoken to about these things.

"A lot can be prevented by talking - we do not want to stop progress, we know the importance of moving forward, we just want to be part of it - not shut out of the decision-making."

When asked if there would be consultation over the remediation work Craggy Range planned for the track, group manager planning and regulatory John O'Shaughnessy said that once a resource consent for that work was requested and was being assessed, all affected parties would be involved.

Craggy Range chief executive Mike Wilding said a landscape architect had been commissioned to complete a remediation plan, which would be peer reviewed to ensure it was robust.

This would be completed by the end of March after which legal advice would be sought as to the appropriate approach to getting a resource consent.