Ahipara defends its park

A Far North District Council suggestion that part of Ahipara's Korora Park be used for vehicle parking was in its early stages, and would not proceed without consultation, a gathering of more than 30 residents was told last week.

Most seemed mollified to some degree by what they heard from council representative Allen Cammell, but few were persuaded that the idea was a good one.

Mr Cammell said the idea was to provide those who drove to the Kaka Street access to 90 Mile Beach with somewhere nearby to park, thus avoiding the congestion that had long been a problem in Kaka Street.

The eastern end of Korora Park was close to a walking track leading to the beach, the only development envisaged being a fence to separate the area from the remainder of the park. There were no plans for any earthworks or other physical development of the site, and overnight parking would not be permitted.

The parking problem in Kaka Street had been on the council's radar for two or three years, he added. Camper vans, buses and the like, which were very unlikely to be taken on to the beach, tended to be left at the end of the street, causing congestion and creating a safety hazard.

Korora Park offered the only realistic alternative for parking, with Mr Cammell suggesting a trial to see how it worked.

Meanwhile, Te Hiku Community Board would be following a consultation process, even if everyone who gathered to hear him last week agreed that the idea was a good one.

"The council doesn't want to do anything behind anyone's back," he added. "That's not the way the council does things."

The general reaction was not entirely positive, however. One man noted that there was a privately-owned camp ground a few hundred metres from the beach access that could be used by the owners of $300,000 motor homes, "The meanest people God put breath into."

Others noted a lack of signage directing motorists to Foreshore Road, where parking was available; some said the loss of part of the reserve would limit its use as a playground; one said the land had been gifted to the council by its Maori owners as a reserve, not a parking area; others arguing that a parking area would need toilets and rubbish bins.