Campaigners plan to occupy key Northland land until it's made into a reserve

Thursday, 11 February 2021

Campaigners talk about the key issues of Puketītī Headland, and why they are occupying it.

A land occupation in the Northland seaside community of Ōpua has united locals, who want to see the site – called the most significant headland in Ōpua – made a reserve for future generations.

But the council-controlled company behind the land’s sale and development said it went above requirements to consult the community, and never received any feedback.

Now Te Tai Tokerau MP Kelvin Davis is calling for all parties to meet and discuss the issues, to see if there could be a way forward.

At Puketītī Headland in Ōpua, Anthony (Tony) Williams from Te Roroa and Ron Cooke from Save Opua's Soul stand side-by-side in opposition to the land sale and development.

The site, Puketītī Headland, has resource consent for a 16-house subdivision and has been sold to Chinese businessman Dong Guo by the commercial arm of Far North District Council, Far North Holdings.

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Ōpua School principal Simon McGowan is worried how the development will impact his school, pictured on the right.

But Anthony Williams, of Ngāpuhi hapū Te Roroa, said the site is wāhi tapu (sacred) and has been of strategic importance to Māori since his tīpuna (ancestor) Punuka used it for its vistas of the Bay of Islands.

It is subject to four different Waitangi Tribunal claims – from Te Roroa, Te Kapotai, Ngāti Manu and Ngāti Hine, he said.

Signs on the corner of Ōpua School show the strong feelings about Puketītī Headland.

Williams and other members of the community had been occupying the land since October 2020, and he said he would stay there as long as it takes to get the land back.

“Our whenua is worth a lifetime to us.”

He wants to see the land used as a reserve for all to use and enjoy, including Ōpua’s tamariki, whose school is crammed on a site opposite the headland.

Ōpua local Paula Beck stirs a pot of homemade cooking as part of the camp on Puketītī. She has been trying to encourage campaigners to keep the campsite plastic-free.

Ōpua School principal Simon McGowan said the safety of the children was of grave concern at peak drop-off and pick-up times, and the subdivision would only add to the traffic.

“Every day I wake up in the middle of the night, wondering if there's going to be a child hurt.”

McGowan is most annoyed resource consent was granted without the school's approval or input, as he never saw publicity about the development when it was first proposed.

“Wouldn't you think that they would inform or involve the school directly as an affected party to ensure we were aware of this and ensure we either approved or objected?” he asked.

“Did they really want us to contribute and give our opinion?”

Far North Holdings spokesman Peter Heath said plans for the site were first presented to residents in 2015, at a meeting of community group Love Ōpua, which was attended by Bay of Islands community board members.

It was also spoken about again at another meeting in March 2018, before a news release was issued in May 2018, informing the community about its plans to apply for subdivision consent, to investigate what might be acceptable.

It invited community feedback but none was received, even though the matter was discussed at length in local social media groups.

“It took a full 19 months for the community to decide to take seriously our well-publicised offer to present any concerns to the company. Which they did only after we advised that consent had been received,” he said.

But Ōpua resident Ron Cooke said locals felt misled.

The initial proposal was presented only as a concept and given an airing only with Love Ōpua, whom he describes as a small group of gardening enthusiasts.

A small but dedicated group is camping on Puketītī Headland and campaigning to have the land sale reversed.

The May 2018 news release also did not detail the development would radically alter the land, with up to 26,000 cubic metres of earthworks allowed, nor that the land was about to be sold to a private developer, he said.

The community has always considered the headland to be a public area, with groups beautifying the grounds over the years, Cooke said.

“The fact that it is iconic and part of the community didn’t mean anything,” he said.

“What other piece of reserve land or park land is going to be taken over by this commercial organisation, Far North Holdings, and sold under us?”

But Far North Holdings disagrees with Cooke, saying full plans for the subdivision earthworks were available with the May 2018 news release and on the Far North District Council website.

The company did not know at the time it would be selling the land to a private developer.

Heath said a conditional sales agreement was signed six days after its first news release was issued, but the timing was purely coincidental after Far North Holdings executives met the buyer at a Chinese consular event.

“The resource consent process took 17 months, during which time it was always unclear whether or not building would be able to take place and the conditional sale would proceed.

“This being the case and, given the confidentiality clauses the company had signed in the conditional sale agreement, it had nothing definite or of any substance it could tell the community.”

Far North Holdings acknowledged and respected Waitangi Tribunal claims, but said they were in relation to the foreshore and seabed, and were for the Crown to address.

The company has kept a large area, about 2800 square metres, in the middle of the development for a green reserve, play area and walking trail.

It will also spend $150,000 on pedestrian improvements for Ōpua School, including a crossing and footpaths on Kellet St, as well as keeping existing parking on the site used by the school.

An independent traffic report, commissioned by the Ministry of Education, found the development will generate traffic largely outside peak hours and its effects can be mitigated, Heath said.