Onaero Bay campground bach owners have been invited to meet their local iwi after complaining they were ignored in planning for a revamp of the Taranaki beachfront reserve.
Seventeen baches sit on leasehold land at Onaero Reserve, which has been owned by Ngāti Mutunga since it was returned in the iwi’s 2005 Treaty settlement.
Under the settlement, the land remains a recreation reserve administered by New Plymouth District Council, which is drawing up a new plan to cement co-management with the iwi owners.
A full-colour draft ‘concept masterplan’ features coastal stabilisation planting, a boardwalk restricting beach access to a single point, a bridge upgrade, and signs including the history of Ngāti Mutunga and the eight pā that were on the river.
Steve Burmester told councillors this week that he and other bach owners hadn’t been asked for their views. Leasehold bach owners want to retain vehicle access to the beach. But he said bach owners had not approached the iwi.
Mayor Neil Holdom stressed that the draft master plan was just a starting point for consultation on a review of Onaero’s Reserve Management Plan.
The report to councillors explained the Onaero Reserve Management Plan would be a co-management plan with Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Mutunga.
Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air
Credit: radionz.co.nz
