Public concerns will influence beach plan

Te Oneroa-a-Tōhē/Ninety Mile Beach - a very special place for all New Zealanders. Picture / Paul Shaw

The care and safety of all users and visitors to the beach, acknowledging tangata whenua and protecting the environment are some of the public concerns that will eventually help shape a formal management plan for Te Oneroa-a-Tōhē/Ninety Mile Beach.

So said Haami Piripi, chairman of Te Oneroa-a-Tōhē Board, last week.

The board, established under Treaty of Waitangi settlement legislation, has been tasked with developing a management plan for the beach, which Mr Piripi said had huge cultural, historical and spiritual significance, not just to Te Hiku o Te Ika's five iwi but Māori and non-Māori alike nationwide.

A great deal of work had been done over the past few months, and would continue over summer, he said, gathering a range of diverse views on the beach, with the aim of ensuring a future management plan had the right balance.

"Our initial public engagement took place over 10 weeks, from mid-July to late September, and involved four hui, three public drop-in events, development of a website and the circulation of a consultation document to all post boxes in Te Hiku," Mr Piripi said.

Broadly speaking, the issues people thought were facing the beach and their associated feedback/concerns fell into half a dozen areas:

●Safety (improving vehicle management via speed limits, fewer access points, designated zones for 4WD/motorbikes and addressing drug and alcohol abuse)

●Acknowledging tangata whenua (including educating visitors about local history/the beach's cultural significance, supporting significant Māori cultural practices, restoring place names, installing pou, protecting wāhi tapu, rāhui, taiapure and whale strandings

●Protecting the natural environment (managing vehicles/people/animals in and around sensitive areas like shellfish beds, sand dunes, native plantings and bird nesting areas, tightening controls on the gathering of kaimoana, especially spat collection, undertaking new planting, fencing and predator management)

●Beach cleanliness (better rubbish management, supporting landcare groups and educating visitors to take rubbish away)

●Visitor behaviour (educating visitors about respectful and appropriate behaviours via ambassadors, monitoring, signage and online)

●Improving facilities for beachgoers (including parking, toilets, cellphone coverage and drinking water).

Mr Piripi said the board planned to gather more information over summer, to "ground truth" what it had already been told with Te Hiku community and beach users, as well as capturing views from absentee land owners and others who come home for summer.

All that information would help shape an eventual draft plan, which the board hoped to release for further public comment in about six months' time.

Given that the plan might cover such a broad range of activities, including cultural, resource management and economic considerations, Mr Piripi said the board's collective view had consistently been that getting the balance right was not something that should be rushed.

"I'm already on the record as saying the decisions made over the next few years will impact for generations to come, and our tamariki, our mokopuna and their children won't thank us if we get it wrong. It's crucial to invest the time now to ensure we the best collective result we can," he said.

■More information about the board and what was planned for the beach can be found at www.teoneroa-a-tohe.nz