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Bin Enquiry FormA proposal to officially protect parts of Williams Park under the Reserves Act.
Council is carrying out consultation to seek the community’s view on a proposal to declare seven properties in Days Bay as reserves and classify them. This consultation is being carried out in accordance with the provisions in Sections 14 and 16 of the Reserves Act.
We're proposing that land in Williams Park and on the Days Bay coast be classified as Recreation Reserve land.
If Council approves it, this administrative task would mean the certificate of title for each property is updated, so that each property is clearly understood to be a Reserve under the Act.
Another aspect of the proposal is to classify a large property east of Williams Park as a Scenic Reserve. This is consistent with the general approach for East Harbour Regional Park, where most properties are classified as a Scenic Reserve.
We set aside land as reserves to ensure their control, management, development, use and preservation for appropriate purposes, for example recreation or scenic values.
Council officers are proposing to declare and classify these seven properties as reserve land, after members of the Days Bay Residents Association queried the Reserves Act status of Williams Park earlier this year.
When officers checked the certificates of title for properties within Williams Park and nearby, they found that the properties were not classified. Several of the titles indicated that the intention was for properties to be managed as reserves, but it wasn't clear whether all seven properties qualified for automatic classification in 1977.
Officially applying reserve status to the land helps protect it and ensures we keep using these properties as recreation and scenic areas.
Advice has been provided by Land Information New Zealand and the Department of Conservation.
Below is a list of the properties affected and some details:
Legal Description | Size | Proposed Classification | Note | |
A | Part Section 33 Harbour District CTWN49C/741 | .20795ha | Recreation Reserve | part of Williams Park |
B | Part Section 33 Harbour District CTWN49C/741 | .19463ha | Recreation Reserve | part of Williams Park |
C | Part Section 33 Harbour District CTWN49C/741 | 5.6195a | Recreation Reserve | part of Williams Park |
D | Part Section 33 Harbour District CTWN49C/741 | .6508ha | Recreation Reserve | part of Williams Park |
E | Lot 2 DP 456938 CT591561 | 253.2814ha | Scenic Reserve 19(1)(b) | part of East Harbour Regional Park |
F | Part Section 33 Harbour District CTWN250/231 | .2539ha | Recreation Reserve | Days Bay coast |
G | Part Section 33 Harbour District CTWN250/231 | .5434ha | Recreation Reserve | Days Bay coast |
The seven properties are identified on this map (1.49MB)
Once land is declared a reserve, it gains status under the Reserves Act 1977. This means the land will be managed with an emphasis on:
Classifying land as a reserve makes the principal purpose of the reserve clear. It's an administrative process designed to help protect the land and make sure the land is used appropriately into the future. In reality, there is unlikely to be any material effect on the way these properties are now used.
The new reserve status of the land also affects Council’s management and decision making about these properties. Council will be legally required to consult with the public before it makes important decisions about these reserves. The Act requires Council to prepare Reserve Management Plans to give the community certainty about the function and management of the land. The Department of Conservation oversees the Reserves Act.
There's a legal process we need to go through before we decide whether to declare or classify the seven properties as reserves.
First we collect submissions and contact organisations that we believe may be interested in the proposal. Then we read through all the submissions and prepare a report with recommendations. The report will be presented to the Eastbourne Community Board, to the Policy and Regulatory Committee and to Council, which will make a resolution to adopt the officers' recommendations or make changes.
The process of declaring properties as reserves and classifying them is prescribed by the Reserves Act 1977. The relevant sections of the Act are 14, 16, 17 and 19. In addition, Sections 119 and 120 relate to notification and submissions. The reserve declaration and classification process is complete once a notice reiterating Council’s resolution has been published in the New Zealand Gazette.
Timeframes:
Date | Task |
24 June - 7 August | consultation with the public |
7 August | deadline for submissions |
August | Council officers collate submissions and prepare report |
5 September | Eastbourne Community Board meeting |
25 September | Policy and Regulatory Committee meeting |
10 October | Council meeting |
mid October | press release to newspapers, responding to submitters |
November 2017 | notice published in NZ Gazette |
For more information contact Kelly Crandle via 04 570 6666