Appendix Two CORANZ Submission

Submission to the Acland Walking Access Consultation Panel

Council of Outdoor RecreationAssociations of NZ Inc

28 July 2006

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Appendix 2

Importance of Unformed Public Roads

These provide for a range of users including hunters with disarmed recreational firearms, people with dogs, bicycles, even where appropriate, 4WDs and trailbikes. They are a very valuable, if sleeping, access asset. It is essential that they are not lost, and that the Panel recognises their value, and recommends strongly that they be retained for current and future generations.

Three examples of unformed public roads under fire are:

1. Tararua District Council, where connecting roads across an amalgamated farm, and to a major scenic reserve (Waewaepa SR) are proposed for removal.
2. Wellington City - Makara Village: Snowdon’s Road from Makara Village to Te Ika a Maru bay, which runs through the proposed Meridian windfarm
3. Palmerston North City Council: Appears to have a policy of removing unformed public roads

Tasman District Council is removing names from all unformed public roads, in an apparent move to make them “disappear”, as part of it’s unique property GPS identification system. Councils behaving suspiciously.

So, action is needed urgently to protect unformed public roads from inappropriate closure. Certainly adjacent landowners, especially when on a Council, are not neutral judges of the value of unformed public roads.

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