Battle of beach rages on

The battle for Ruakaka Beach continued this week when eight wooden posts put up by campaigners to block vehicle access were hastily removed by police.
An anonymous group called "Friends of the Beach" cemented the posts across 4WD tracks onto the beach on Thursday evening at 9pm.
By 7am yesterday, four of the posts had been removed by the Ruakaka police, freeing up access.
"We put the bollards up because we need to take action against the vehicles going through there to get on the beach," an anonymous group member told the Northern Advocate.
"Two fishermen were there when we were putting them up and they were really angry about what we were doing. They most probably reported us to the police."
The group's move comes after months of arguing between Ruakaka Beach users with one side wishing to ban 4WDs from that part of the beach, the other side insisting beach access is a right.
Emotions between the two groups boiled over during a protest organised by the Bream Bay Coastal Care Group at the start of the month.
The coastal care group, which is separate from `Friends of the Beach', created a human barrier across vehicle tracks, entrenching themselves in the sand. This sparked a heated argument between the group members and locals who insisted they had no right to block off the beach.
As locals continue to fight it out between themselves, Whangarei District Council is still working on a solution.
Parks technical officer Aubery Gifford said the council was working with the Department of Conservation to try to find and alternative track.
"We weren't aware of any bollards. They definitely weren't put up or taken down by the council. I sympathise with the group's frustration but people shouldn't take action into their own hands," said Mr Gifford.
"The current access is not ideal, it allows cars to go too close to bathers and damages sand dune vegetation. However we won't close it until an alternative is found. The group are fighting for a very worthy cause but must wait for a solution."
Northland Regional Council staff are currently gathering information on vehicle beach use and will report findings to the regional Land Transport Committee early next year for consideration.