09/07/2021
UPDATE FOR BEACH ACCESS
Apologies for the long silence. We have been working hard behind the scenes meeting and corresponding with Council and are close to making a decision to go down the legal route.
We will be posting details of fundraisers which may include a trek, catered party, and/or quiz night. We appreciate people’s patience and think this demonstrates what a respectful sector of society we are.
A recap of events: HAAWI presented a submission on the proposed Reserve Management Plan (RMP) at the public meeting held in Raglan on February 23rd, 2021. We advocated for horse-riding in the Waikato District and specifically for continued at the Wainui Reserve (which is a permitted activity). We also made a case for allowing access to Ngarunui Beach from the Reserve, as opposed to our traditional access of the Council carpark at the end of Riria Kereopa Memorial Drive.
This proposed change of access came about as a result of the two meetings we had with hapu at Poihakena Marae in 2020, where we listened to their concerns.
Following the RMP meeting we asked Council for the minutes and progress on outcomes. While these were not forthcoming, we were granted a meeting with council representatives from the Open Spaces & Reserves Team. The meeting held May 21st in Ngaruawahia had some positive aspects. Two staff voiced commitment to include equestrian needs in the planning of future open space projects.
Unfortunately there was no commitment to uphold our request for permission to ride on the beach. We were advised that the
panel overseeing the RMP were to have a meeting end of July. There is no deadline for this process and it could drag on.
HAAWI is one of many stakeholder groups, so realistically we could at best hope for the designated carpark and marked trails to ride within Wainui Reserve. In our view, it is unrealistic to expect beach access from this RMP process.
We have been consulting with our legal advisors since the beginning. It looks increasingly likely we will need to undertake a Judicial Review to challenge the beach riding ban.
We acknowledge that the ban was covertly inserted to the 2006 bylaw which has since been replaced by the 2016 bylaw. Correct due process has not been followed and we have been unfairly dealt with.
While it is not appropriate to delve into details on our legal route, we do require your support at upcoming fundraisers to cover legal expenses. We have a trek, catered party and quiz nights to organise and promote and look forward to involving our wider horse riding family to participate and share our fight
for riding access at the beach and beyond.
Thank you all for your patience, this has helped our credibility and bodes well for a good outcome – riding at the beach and inclusion in future bridleway developments.
