Park picture-frames no longer a pretty picture

A park ranger with a "masterpiece frame" at the Hunua Ranges waterfall that is likely to remain. Herald file picture

Love them or loathe them, the giant picture-frames-in-the-park that sparked a public furore appear to have finally had their day.

The 16 elaborate "masterpiece frames" were put up at various park locations in 1999 by the Auckland Regional Council in an attempt to lift its profile and as a marketing tool for its regional park network.

It successfully achieved the former when the frames sparked a public outcry, were labelled a blot on the landscape instead of a showcase, and called "hideous" and "kitsch".

A staff report to next week's ARC parks and heritage committee meeting recommends ditching the frames as they are a concept that could "tire" and because they need a facelift costing more than $6000 a frame.

The frames could be "a potential hazard" if not refurbished, the report says, and it "would be difficult to defend" retaining them because there is no consistency or rationale for the range of locations. No new frames have been put up despite the council buying a number of new parks since 1999.

Council staff recommend keeping just two: at the busy Arataki Visitor Centre in Waitakere Regional Park and at Hunua.

Parks and heritage committee chairwoman Sandra Coney has never been a big fan of the frames, but said it was up to councillors to decide on their fate at Wednesday's meeting.

"At Arataki people have their photo taken with them, they've become part of the furniture and tourists love them but they're probably past their use-by date," she said.

"We'll have a couple of spares in the garage if those get worn."

The council always maintained visitor research showed admirers outnumbered detractors but so strongly did Waiheke and Muriwai residents feel they fended off an attempt to put one in their regional parks.

The staff report said some frames had been worn smooth by park visitors "putting themselves in the picture", although some visitor feedback "suggests some people are puzzled by the ornate frames".

A key consideration in consigning the frames to history is that Westpac Bank has not been sponsoring them since 2004, having originally paid $170,000 for branding rights.

Two frames that were removed because they were not up to standard had yielded the council $5000 at sale.

Likely to be removed: Mahurangi, Wenderholm, Shakespear, Long Bay, Cascades, Cornwallis, Ambury, Waharau, Tapapakanga, Duder, Omana, Awhitu and Auckland Regional Botanic Gardens.