3. Ease of access onto beach.
Man ga wha iC
liff
s
N H
I
I
Key Mangawhai Heads Beach
A Existing Surf Lifesaving Club (SLC) B SLC lookout kiosk C Possible future commercial building / surf club / public toilets and showers
White Rock
D Service access
I
E Boardwalk F Proposed Ocean Park G Proposed Estuary Park
H
Mangrove film debate turns salty P5
I
H Upgraded and/or new track network
M
What next for Mangawhai Heads? P11
N
I
E
J
L Lookout M Bus / shuttle stop N Existing carpark areas
F
I
H
G
Track Deleted
Carparking - 101 additional parks (209 total). Due to peak demand, future parking management practices maybe required
J Accessible carparks (2 parks) K Carparks (3 parks)
J
K
O
Notes
• SLC building to stay in current position.
A
D
Maritime history recorded P17
O Indicative access to existing Surf Club Building
B
C G
• Remove the beach front carparks (32) and extend existing carpark by 101.
• Ensure easy access for Emergency vehicles, e.g. St John to the SLC at the rear. This access is a shared zone, more pedestrian oriented than vehicular. • Vehicular access to the beach is maintained in its current location.
H
• A small SLC-lookout is positioned to get a great vantage point of both the entire beach, the channel and the Mangawhai bar (B).
Picnic Bay
• A new boardwalk/ promenade connects the ‘arrival/drop off area with the beach.
L
• Provide two strong connections to the beach, where the boardwalk gives way to a series of timber stairs, then into a beach track. • Develop a new area of open space, sheltered from the northern winds and with views over the inner estuary. Remove the existing pines. Reinstate native cover on the banks. Mangawhai Bar
• Upgrade both the short walks to the two elevated hills. The views are spectacular and easily accessible and are an under valued part of the sites amenity. • New toilet and shower facility integrated into the possible future commercial building, sized to meet future demand.
Mangawhaifocus December 16, 2024
M A N G AW H A I H E A D S R E S E R V E
DRAFT CONCEPT SITE PLAN
Mangawhai Harbour Entry
scale: 1:500 @ A1 1:1000 @ A3 date: 08 November 2024 rev: C
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A small band of residents made a stand recently to save the natives from the contractor’s felling equipment.
Kapawiti natives saved by local protest For the second time in three years, a small kahikatea forest has been saved from the axe, thanks to a band of locals who made a stand against its destruction. In the early morning hours of December 5, Kapawiti Road residents held a peaceful protest to protect the small thicket after discovering contractors might be removing the trees as part of a Kaipara District Council (KDC) plan to widen the road. The kahikatea, possibly 60 to 80 years old, are at the foot of the Brynderwyns on a tight Y-junction leading to several properties including Mangawhai Hills, a 47-hectare development project of Mangawhai Heads Holding, owned by Kaipara district’s deputy mayor, Jonathan Larsen.
A similar protest was held in September 2021 when several trees including totaras and puriri were earmarked for removal. However, this was deemed a mistake by KDC as work to widen the road had not been finalised. A long-term Kapawiti Road resident, who asked not to be named, says since then locals have not received any follow-up information from KDC. Recent attempts to get an update have also proved frustrating. “For three years, we weren’t given any information. Then in the past few weeks, I’ve been trying to talk to different members of the council roading team and was told my service request will be forwarded on and somebody will get in touch. But when someone did contact me, they were not the
right person,” he says. “Then I come home to bulldozers.” On December 4, contractors began work before the road’s fork and progressed to clear a dense cluster of trees and allegedly a large totara on public land, directly behind the kahikatea copse. However, locals claim they were told excavations would not be conducted in that area. “I’d literally been talking to the council the day before and they said work would stop at a tree further down Kapawiti Road. The roading crew also said the same thing, no work was going to be done around the kahikateas,” he says. “To be done sneakily like that, that's just not cricket.” Another resident camped out overnight to
guard the trees in case contractors decided “to rock up early” and was joined by other protestors at 6am. Excavation machinery rolled in soon after. “The contractors said they had been given permission to start but I said unless they can prove they had consent, they can't. If they had one, then it is what it is, we can't do anything about it,” he says. “Five minutes later the machines were put back onto the transporter. They said they’d work down the front of the road until the council came up with the consents and possibly with a police escort. We’re not here to be a nuisance though, don’t want any aggression.” continued page 4
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