My Account
The public got its first look at concept plans for the future of Ōrewa Reserve, at the Hibiscus & Bays Local Board workshop on February 21.
And it was immediately clear from the presentation by Auckland Council’s Resilient Land and Coasts general manager, Paul Klinac, that what happens will hinge on whether the Norfolk pines on the reserve edge stay or go.
The pines, believed to be 60-80 years old, were notably absent from all three concept drawings.
Klinac acknowledges that the pines are “a very emotive topic” in Ōrewa.
There is debate about who planted them, with families who have lived for generations in Ōrewa, along with local historians, believing that they were put there by Sir Edmund Hillary’s father Percy – a member of the Ōrewa Beach Beautification Society. However, there is no proof of this.
The large trees also create a strong part of the beach’s visual identity.
However, Klinac says the pines are in a “questionable” location (on an active dune crest) and restrict a more naturalistic approach that could flow from green space to dune system to beach. He says Council considered the potential removal of the pines 23 years ago, planting replacements further back towards the road.
“If the trees weren’t there, you could better provide the things that beach users want,” Klinac says.
Council surveyed the public in 2021 (HM August 2, 2021) to see how the beach is used and what people value most. As a result, the priorities for Council’s planning include retaining play options and basketball/beach volleyball, enhancing opportunities for recreation on a dry beach; improving access to the beach, and enhancing opportunities for walking and cycling along the length of the beach.
Klinac says that protecting the trees by putting up a seawall would reduce the amount of dry sandy beach.
“If the trees remain, it tailors the future management responses and will affect the cost and likelihood of getting resource consent.”
He told the local board that funding will definitely not be there for a seawall along the reserve, as the cost of building it to code would be in the $8m-$12m range.
“Money is tight, so we have to look at what it’s most important to protect.”
Member Leanne Willis pointed to the rocks in front of Ōrewa Surf Club, put there in the early 1980s after a storm. It was a combined effort by the public and Council, she said. “Could we go ‘old school’ and do that again as a way of saving money?”
Klinac says while those structures were not damaged in the recent cyclone, he questions whether rocks are a good answer.
“People look at those rocks and say ‘they work’ but do we want a beach with rocks all the way along, or perhaps green space, a dune system and beach?”
He says seawalls are not favoured because of the cost of building and maintaining them, and a preference for working with nature. The wall to be constructed between Kohu St and Marine View is to protect a narrow strip of reserve, which the recent cyclone pared almost back to private property. That project, set to begin construction next year, may now cost more as Council ‘builds back’ some of the reserve.
By comparison, Ōrewa Reserve is far wider, giving Council more options than just a wall.
With those concept plans now before them, the local board will debate the pros and cons and provide feedback, and mana whenua will be consulted. Public consultation will follow but the timeframe for that is not yet known.
“If we had no Norfolk pines in place, the conversation would not be as challenging – it would be about establishing dunes, for example. The trees are driving the complexity of this argument,” Klinac says.
He says while he understands the public’s frustration at the time the process takes, it is important to get it right.
“Yes we have debated it for a long time. Yes, it gets storm damage, but when that happens, we need to move past the knee jerk reaction to put in rocks. Let’s understand how the beach functions and make the best and most resilient call possible for Ōrewa’s future.”
Shifting sands The process of shifting sand from the Estuary end further down the beach will continue even after the wall at Kohu St to Marine View is built. Klinac says that is because of the alignment of the wall, for aesthetics (to visually reduce the wall’s bulk) and to provide a buffer for the structure. • On Ōrewa Reserve, however, there may not be the need for ongoing sand transfer depending on what solution is put in place there. “There is a sweet spot where we could establish a dune and it could require little maintenance,” he says.
