Bollard mistake: Residents accept council apology as talks resume

Hakatere Huts residents have reluctantly accepted the council’s apology in the hope of reaching a solution to their battle over the boundary markers.

Anger erupted in the small Canterbury community when Ashburton District Council closed the Upper Hakatere reserve to camping and installed bollards to block vehicle access in February 2023.

Ashburton District Council chief executive Hamish Riach apologised on Monday, accepting a report to council “contained an erroneous statement” about an apparent compromise reached with residents.

A working group – made up of council and resident representatives – failed to reach “a consensus view” to move the markers to improve access to the picnic area, while continuing the camping ban, Riach said.

This was wrongly suggested in a recommendation adopted by the Council last week.
The working group will now meet again to negotiate a solution, which will be taken to councillors at a meeting in August, Riach said.

Hakatere community working group representatives Gary Clancy, TJ Jonker and Sheryl Hendriksen said the debacle had shaken their confidence in the process.

“All of this has raised questions about the integrity of what’s going on within the council,” Clancy said.
“We hope that democracy will prevail here.”

Yonkers said he accepted the apology but hoped they would “find out where this all went wrong.”

He was baffled that two of the task force’s advisers – Tony Todd and Richard Wilson – were present at the meeting and did not question the accuracy of the report before voting.

That decision will now be reversed before the working group works on an agreed recommendation to submit to the council, something it has yet to come up with after two meetings.

The task force was created after residents petitioned council in April asking for the markers to be removed and camping reinstated.

Hakatere’s representatives on the working group believe that they were “never mandated to negotiate a compromise” following the petition’s request.

With the council appearing adamant that the campsite will not be reinstated, and based on the details regarding the markers in the erroneous report, representatives believe that another community meeting will be necessary to assess what level of concession, if any, is deemed acceptable.

“There can be no compromise on our part until we have the mandate from our people to do so,” Clancy said.

“When the council brings forward a proposal, we expect to have a reasonable opportunity to consult with the community.”

The terminals, which Clancy called a “bloody blight on the landscape,” appear to be at the heart of any negotiated solution.

“Most of us feel that the terminals do not allow us to use our reserve,” Hendriksen said.

The report to council also included a letter from residents Carol Stewart and Tracey Tubman suggesting that some residents supported the continued exclusion of camping on the reserve.

They felt the site’s “million dollar views” would be better shared with day-trippers than with “campers who disrespect the area.”

The letter also suggests that some residents may have felt compelled to sign the petition and asks that one of them be invited to any future meetings of the working group so that their views are represented.

“At this stage, there are no plans to review the composition of the working group,” Riach said.

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