Thread: Kaimanawa Forest Park

Hi all
Further to this discussion both Waipakihi and Kaimanawa Roads were taken under the Public Works Act for the purpose of electricity generation development, and are still vested in the crown for that purpose. When I get a reply from Walking Access NZ I'll post it here.
Cheers
Ruger7mm

I received an email from Heli sika this morning for their winter special and replied asking what was going on - their reply below.

Hi Ross

Helisika is currently in the process of opening a new base on waipakihi road in conjunction with the land owners who own that land.

Our new base aims to be operating by this coming summer and for security reasons the trust has decided to put gates on the road to stop illegal poaching and 4WD access, also for security around the new base and infrastructure.
We are yet to determine whether we will be able to grant walking access to the DOC land on the lower Waipakihi.

It would seem that to erect a gate on the road, would in fact be erecting a gate on land owned by the Crown, so essentially would need to approval of the Crown agency that holds responsibility over the land taken through the Public Works Act (PWC) in 1968. Interestingly section 48 of the PWC allows for the Crown to grant an easement over the land for access at their discretion, this could be an avenue to to pursue if needed.
I would have thought a gate on the Waipakahi Road would not be the best security for a helicopter base, a fence around the said facility would be more appropriate I would have thought?

I've pointed out to them (Helisika) that it does look like the trust doesn't own the road, so it will be interesting to see where it goes from here.

The MLC haven't answered yet, but I'm not expecting a fast reply so will just stand by.

If this is all happening (bases being built, gates being erected) I think you can be pretty sure those involved have done their homework and gone through the right procedures. Ngati Tuwharetoa and Heli Sika are (if nothing else) very astute business people and would be unlikely go ahead with a project like this if they had not ticked all the correct boxes first.

Originally Posted by Shearer

If this is all happening (bases being built, gates being erected) I think you can be pretty sure those involved have done their homework and gone through the right procedures. Ngati Tuwharetoa and Heli Sika are (if nothing else) very astute business people and would be unlikely go ahead with a project like this if they had not ticked all the correct boxes first.

Or, they operate on the principle of better to ask for forgiveness than permission

Money money money. And DoC can 't or won't match it.

Originally Posted by Ruger7mm

Hi all
Further to this discussion both Waipakihi and Kaimanawa Roads were taken under the Public Works Act for the purpose of electricity generation development, and are still vested in the crown for that purpose. When I get a reply from Walking Access NZ I'll post it here.
Cheers
Ruger7mm

So if that's indeed still the case I can see no ability for the Trust that owns the land on both sides of the Waipakahi road to legally erect a barrier gate unless the Crown kowtows to the Trust and leaves their employers, AKA The Public! high and dry.

Correct! There is a solution, but Cindy and co will not go against the adjoining landowners wishes even at the expense of letting thousands of visitors annually to that area down. I might ask LINZ if any permissions have been granted over the land they are responsible for and see what I get back.

The catchment Sth of Waipakihi is the waipahihi which is also moari. I seem to recall it was crown land and exchanged for some maori land bordering tongariro nat park. A helisika base on waipakihi rd would give cheapish heli access into waipahihi valley as well as waipakihi and sthrn kaimanawa and upper ngaruroro and rangatikie catchment ecology ck etcso I feel there is a business plan there and I also think DoC would be aware of this along with tuwharetoa. However the present vehicle access should not be denied to hunters and trampers as a result so some lobbying of parliamentarians is called for asap IMO. This jackup has obviously been in the covert pipeline for quite a while.

I can't see helisika putting in a mere pad and flying to it every day. More likely to be a base like at poronui plus a hut up the waipahihi. Just a surmise IMO but such a service would need some scale and security. Royalties to be paid as well etc. DoC ops would be serviced as well.
Just my guesses.

Originally Posted by imaca

Or, they operate on the principle of better to ask for forgiveness than permission

Yea I'd say that's unlikely !!

Inclined to agree with Shearer, if they are investing that kind of capital in today's environment then I'm sure they have done their due diligence

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

That's the catch... They didn't have to invest... We did it for them, in the form of the Provincial growth fund. Was covered a couple of pages back. And from some murmurings I hear they may not have done quite all they may want to have. Time will tell.

https://www.lrft.co.nz/files/2021_LR...rt_-_FINAL.pdf Page 23

Originally Posted by PillowDribbler

https://www.lrft.co.nz/files/2021_LR...rt_-_FINAL.pdf Page 23

Very interesting. Development plans all there in black and white.