Local wants action on missing handrail to track

A Takapuna resident is calling on council to replace a washed-out handrail on the path down to the coastal track from Brett Ave.

John Struthers requested the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board support his call for action for safety’s sake, but was told the handrail was likely to be on a long list of work waiting to be done after recent floods.

Struthers said since what was a new handrail washed out last year, a woman had slipped on the path. He understood she had broken her pelvis.

The railing was poorly designed and manufactured, he said, and had only lasted a week, whereas the one it had replaced was solid, galvanised steel.

At a board community forum this month, he told members he had raised the matter with Auckland Council and was told last November that it was investigating, but nothing had been done.

“Hopefully through this forum, we can get action on it,” he said.

Struthers also raised other issues about maintenance of the popular Takapuna to Milford coastal walkway, which forms part of the nationwide Te Araroa trail.

Erosion and wave action was scouring out private land it crossed or bordered.

Rocks were also being undercut along sections, including south of Brett Ave.

The former North Shore Council had inspected the track every two years and used concrete in places needing stabilising, he said.

Board member Mel Powell wondered if a community group could help care for the track, after Struthers said landowners such as himself that were affected should be able to expect council help.

“Am I expected to maintain it at my expense when it is [used as] a public walkway?” he asked.

Board chair Toni van Tonder noted the track crossed around 70 properties. “By the good grace of the owners, access is ena- bled.” She hoped this would not be lost and thought Powell’s suggestion of community help could be a “wonderful outcome” given elderly residents in particular might find tending their area challenging.

The volatile coastal environment was a difficult one for Auckland Council to manage, she said. In some areas managed retreat might need considering.

Struthers said the bulk of private landowners were not experiencing major problems, only those on a small number of properties, and they did not want to see the track closed.

But he believed the council should find the resources to help them.

Van Tonder said the board would refer the matter of the path handrail to the community facilities team as there was a coastal renewals budget, though this was being prioritised for flood fixes.

Deputy chair Terence Harpur asked that the issue of loose rocks also be investigated.

Reserves reclassified in paperwork update

A host of public spaces, including parts of Milford Beach Reserve, are being formally classified to better safeguard their status as public land under the Reserves Act.

Pockets of unclassified reserves across the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board area are to be given reserve status in a legal tidy-up.

In some cases, multiple titles will still apply in some reserves and along esplanades, due to the history of their acquisition.

The Milford Reserve is a case in point, with some lots already recreation reserve and now two other previously unclassified chunks of it to be given the same status.

The 6.64ha Greville Reserve in Forrest Hill is the largest area affected. Other blocks of land being added to existing reserves are as small as a 29sqm lot attached to Brian

Takapuna Residents Association welcomes all locals to its AGM

Wednesday 21st June 7:00pm at Takapuna Senior Citizens Hall (next to library)

An overview of our recent work and mission will be outlined by Chairman Steven Salt

A former military property at Kennedy Park is among public spaces being reclassified

Byrnes Reserve in Milford.

The board last month signed off on a list of around 90 classifications, which has been worked on by council staff for several years.

The former board wanted more land given Reserves Act status, rather than being under the Local Government Act, believing this would offer greater protection from sale. Classification is also a statutory requirement prior to the adoption of a Local Parks Management Plan, which is being prepared for the area.

Board members asked staff to include 139 Beach Rd, a property that is part of the Kennedy Park military site, among the reserve classifications.

Areas along beach fronts and coastlines, beside Wairau Estuary, and around Lake Pupuke, include multiple titles, most carrying an esplanade or access-reserve classification, rather than being recreation reserve.

Title amalgamation is generally not being pursued. In some cases, separate titles offer a benefit for council in its leasing arrangements, said council staff. Sports fields can be leased on one title, with a hall or playground in the same reserve able to be separately titled.

Letter

Amaia already an eyesore

Just read your article on the Amaia development in Esmonde Rd (Observer, 12 May). This development is already an eyesore as can be seen by the photo of the first stage which is only six storeys. Imagine if it went even to 12 storeys – it would be awful.

I suggest the developers wanted 12 storeys all along and that is why they sought approval for 16 storeys. Watch them get their way by offering to pay for the walkway connecting to Francis St. They said that the increase in traffic would be minimal, with 550 residents.

Jock MacVicar