Should vehicles have access to Waimārama Beach? - second round of consultation begins
A second round of consultation on people’s views regarding vehicle access to Waimārama Beach started yesterday, with the community invited to give their feedback.
This consultation follows pre-engagement undertaken before Christmas to gather the priorities and concerns of community and beach users on the use of vehicles on the beach.
The Hastings District Council said in a statement yesterday that during the earlier engagement residents were fairly evenly split between keeping the current rules and extending the vehicle ban area.
Collating all the feedback and suggestions, council has arrived at four options for the community to consider: Keep the current vehicle ban in place between Labour weekend and April 1, extend the ban in the same location to all year round, extend the ban area to the north all year round including Tiakitai Rd access, or extend the ban to the north excluding the Tiakitai Rd access all year round.
“This information will be used by councillors to help them with their decision-making. The community input will be considered alongside other information, including from entities such as emergency services, mana whenua, environmental agencies, and Hawke’s Bay Regional Council. This is not a vote.”
“If the decision is to expand the ban area, implementing the change is likely to require a further process to formalise it.”
The Council says that markers have been placed on the beach to show where the various option areas start and finish, and there is also a map available at www.myvoicemychoice.co.nz
A drop-in session will be held at Waimārama Memorial Hall on April 20, from 12pm to 3pm.
People can also give feedback online at www.myvoicemychoice.co.nz or forms are available at the Hastings Libraries (Flaxmere, Hastings, Havelock North), and Council's customer service centre, Lyndon Road East, Hastings.
The consultation closes at 5pm on May 10.
