News release
12 May 2005
Queen Elizabeth Park draft management plan
Greater Wellington's Landcare Committee today made a recommendation to Council to release the Queen Elizabeth Park Draft
Management Plan 2005 for public consultation.
The Landcare Committee has considered over 300 public submissions received from the initial consultation phase which
began in October 2004. Queen Elizabeth Park, on the Kapiti Coast, is the most popular regional park.
The draft management plan has taken into account the provisions of the current management plan, the public submissions,
and discussions with interested parties, local iwi, relevant agencies and Councils.
Chair of the Landcare Committee Councillor Chris Laidlaw said that, "The purpose of the initial stage of consultation
was to identify key issues in the park's management and people's views."
"We've received some really good ideas and recommendations from the first phase. The submissions, although generally
positive and supportive of the park's management, facilities, and services, were very varied."
"The key issues ranged from the protection of the existing park values and further ecological restoration, to
significant development projects requiring large infrastructural investment. The issues that dominated were the
provision for motorised recreation facilities in the park, the importance of Whareroa Farm to the park, and whether to
allow the Coastal Track to be used as a cycle route."
"Taking everything into account, we've worked through a robust process to produce a draft plan. It's sure to please
some, and upset others. At this stage there are no plans to allow motorised sport within the park. It's a solid base for
the second stage of the consultation process, one which we look forward to with an open mind. There are several issues
which are sure to be hotly debated over the coming weeks."
Although the draft plan may look quite different from the current management plan, Greater Wellington's manager of parks
and forests Murray Waititi says that there have been very few changes in the plan's substance, and in how the park will
be managed. "The open-space and recreational opportunities, consistent with the environmental, heritage and landscape
values of the park, have been maintained," he says.
The second stage of the process will begin later this month with a two-month public consultation period. The draft plan
will be available online at www.gw.govt.nz on Tuesday 17 May.
A full review of the management plan takes place every five years.
ENDS