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The block of land is adjacent to the Hakaru River, at the end of Browns Road.
Before the land was purchased by the KDC, it was a working farm and already has partially developed tracks.
After seven years of petitioning the Kaipara District Council (KDC), the Mangawhai Tracks Charitable Trust will be allowed to develop a new mountain biking park on a disused block in Hakaru.
The 120ha block at the end of Browns Road was purchased by the KDC for farmland to discharge Mangawhai’s treated wastewater.
The trust petitioned the Council in 2013. After a near seven-year hiatus, Councillor Jonathan Larsen requested an update from Council on development plans for the land.
Council advised that Te Runanga o Ngati Whatua had registered an interest in the land with Treaty Settlements Office.
Cr Larsen says Te Runanga has now agreed to support the Tracks Trust’s proposal and the land will remain in Council ownership, freeing it up for development.
The land, formerly known as Lincoln Downs farm, has now been given reserve status and the Council is drafting a memorandum of understanding with the Tracks Trust.
Trust chair Gordon Hosking says the intention is to build a mountain biking loop and a walking track loop, both of which will eventually link up with the Brynderwyn Walkway.
The Trust has already developed 12kms of walking track in the Brynderwyn Hills, which is used by 6000 visitors each year.
“We have 40 members in the tracks team and they are keen to get on with a new project,” Gordon says.
The intention is to develop the mountain bike trail to a standard suitable for national competitions.
