One of Northland's longest-running and most bitter wrangles has finally come to an end - or possibly not.
Far North district councillors have voted to grant easements over part of a reserve at Walls Bay to Doug's Opua Boatyard, ending a dispute that has lasted 20 years and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars as it bounced back and forth between councils, courthouses, the Department of Conservation and even Parliament.
Boatyard owner Doug Schmuck says the easements simply legalise a long-standing situation at the boatyard, starting long before he bought it, where some of the work areas and a turntable encroach on to the reserve.
Some local residents, however, say Mr Schmuck is trying to take over a waterfront reserve.
The Opua Coastal Preservation Society believes the Reserves Act, which prohibits commercial activity on public reserves, trumps the consents previously granted to Mr Schmuck allowing him to wash down and work on boats on the slipway that crosses the reserve.
