By WAYNE THOMPSON
Owners of a cluster of 20 baches beside the popular Long Bay Regional Park say they are being squeezed out of their beach paradise by local authorities and a land developer.
A group have vowed to fight an eviction order hanging over them in the hope of being able to stay beyond this summer.
The modest baches of one and two bedrooms were a fixture on the North Shore beach when it became a regional park in 1965. They were shifted 100m inland on to a flat enclave of private farm land bordering the park.
A resource consent for the baches, granted in 1997 by the North Shore City Council, expired last August.
A condition of consent was that on its expiry the baches would be removed and their sites turned into lawn.
Four of the original nest of 26 baches have been sold for $5000 each and are on their way to a Northland farm block.
Their elderly owners gave in to eviction threats because they did not have the money for a legal battle, say some of the owners who met at the weekend and decided to put up a fight.
Christine McMahon, a bach owner for three years, said the group would try to persuade the city council to renew their resource consents so the baches could stay until the ground leases ran out in 2006.
She said the landlord, Vaughn Park Holdings, had sold to a developer and would not support the consent bid.
Chances of success were further reduced by the council insisting that the public be given a say, on grounds that the baches affected the environment.
Bach owners paid $800 as a deposit for the consent bid and thousands of dollars in legal fees, Mrs McMahon said.
They had since been asked for a further $3150, which had to be paid by tomorrow or the council would enforce the consent condition.
The hearing is unlikely to be held before next February.
"This has affected us all financially and emotionally," Mrs McMahon said.
"All the bach owners are just normal Kiwis who love a holiday by the beach. We are having to go to the Ombudsman in desperation to try and resolve this issue."
Parks planner Neil Olsen says the Auckland Regional Council will oppose the renewal of consents because the baches have been there on a temporary basis for more than 25 years.
The council was negotiating to buy the bach sites to extend the park, he said.
Vaughn Park Holdings also owns the land behind the park.
The semi-rural area has been cleared by the Environment Court for housing development.
The city council is trying to get some land for reserves and is preparing a structure plan for zonings, roading and drainage.
It could take four years for the plan to be completed and bach owners believe they should be able to stay until the future of the area is known.
Their lease rental for a 60 sq m site is $3000 a year.
It is a bargain for summer living - only 100m from the 1.2km beach - and is enjoyed by owners who live as far away as Kerikeri.
Owner Noel Price, of Glenfield, is repainting his weekend retreat in case he has to move it. "It's as sound as the day it was built 27 years ago," he said.
"Another New Zealand icon will be lost when these go. For me, and my friends, coming here is just as though you are out of Auckland."
Writer Stan Sutherland is a regular at a friend's bach, where there is a clear view of the ocean from the living room.
"I love working here. I can take meditative walks up the beach and the place is quiet after the ghetto-blasters go home at 6 o'clock."
Bach owners fight to keep beach paradise
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