- Current Mechanisms for Providing Access Along Water Margins
- Factors Inhibiting Public Access to Water Margins
Access To and Along Water Margins
- Access to and along water margins is covered in more detail in the section Objectives for Enhancing Access. There are additional points in this section on esplanade reserves/strips and access strips.
Current Mechanisms for Providing Access Along Water Margins
Esplanade reserves/strips
- Participants raise several points in relation to esplanade reserves and strips:
- The management of esplanade reserves is an important issue.
- Councils should place adequate esplanade reserves on subdivisions and not trade or minimise them.
- Esplanade strips/reserves must be moveable.
- Esplanade strips are private agreements and there is no reason why they cannot be closed.
- Can an esplanade reserve be used for other activities aside from walking?
- Esplanade reserves lead to private capture of public land.
- It is the decision of a council whether it wants to charge for fishing on an esplanade reserve.
Access strips
- Participants mention that access strips can:
- Help control access.
- Have high value along coastlines.
- Conflict with the push by regional councils for riparian plantings.
- Be fenced on both sides.
Factors Inhibiting Public Access to Water Margins
- Factors inhibiting public access to water margins are covered in more detail elsewhere in the document. There is additional information in this section on the power of territorial authorities, DOC and marginal strips and ad medium filum aquae rights.
Power of territorial authorities
- Several participants note that territorial authorities are reluctant to, or are not, translating the priority of the maintenance and enhancement of public access to and along the coastal marine area, lakes and rivers into practice. Participants are not certain whether their council has an access strategy. Participants also acknowledge that there is increasing pressure on councils to waive or reduce the requirement for the width of esplanade reserves when private land is subdivided. In general, it seems that councils are reluctant to promote access and do not have enough accountability in order to fulfil their requirements under the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA).
- Maori participants state that councils do not understand where Maori are coming from, nor do they consider the Maori perspective when dealing with access issues.
Department of Conservation and marginal strips
- There is much reference made by participants to the role of DOC and its protection of conservation values over the enhancement of access. As DOC is not eager to become involved in access disputes, rural landowners find now the responsibility falls on them to provide access opportunities. Participants feel that in some cases DOC favours exclusion of access and is developing some tracks at the expense of others. Some participants also note that there is conflict between DOC's marginal strip requirements under the Conservation Act 1987 and RMA requirements relating to esplanade reserves and strips.
- The level of enhancement of access by DOC may change, as a participant points out that DOC has recently received additional funding for track management while another indicates that a recreational facilities review will involve consideration of walkways.
Ad medium filum aquae rights
- Participants who refer to this legal concept believe that it should be sorted out and clarified so that people do not get prevented from accessing public resources. Other participants admit their uncertainty surrounding the existence of this right.
Contact for Enquiries
Rural Affairs Coordinator
Sector Performance Policy
MAF Policy
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
PO Box 2526
Wellington
NEW ZEALAND
Phone: +64 4 894 0675
Fax: +64 4 4 894 0745
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