Landowners present views on proposed wahi taonga

The proposal that Te Wharangi in the Waipatiki Beach area be listed as a Wahi Taonga has been disputed during the Environment Court hearings. Photo / File

The size of the area of land proposed by Maungaharuru-Tangitu Trust to be listed as wahi taonga sites in the HDC district plan was challenged by landowners at the Environment Court on Thursday.

The trust had appealed Hastings District Council decisions related to protecting sites of significance in Hawke's Bay, and because not all the issues had been resolved through mediation, debate over eight proposed sites had moved into the court.

On Thursday, the court heard from Simon Tremain, who with brother Chris Tremain through their family trust Sunset Investments Ltd had rejected that land they owned at Te Wharangi was a pa site.

Simon Tremain said the trust sought to make 4ha of the family's 6ha block wahi taonga.

In a submission the trust concluded through its own archaeological investigations that it agreed with an initial Hastings District Council decision that there was insufficient evidence to say that most of their land was a site of wahi taonga, and that it was an historically significant pa site.

Trust lawyer David Allen challenged the Tremains' claim that they were unaware it was a pa site until 2014.

Mr Allen asked why Mr Tremain did not know this, when his brother Chris gave a speech about the land in question during the third reading in Parliament of the Maungaharuru-Tangitu hapu claims settlement bill in April 2014.

At that time Mr Allen said Mr Tremain's speech included mention that he and his brother owned land on the ridgeline of which was an old pa site from many years ago.

"We were aware there was a claim that it was a pa site in 2014, but I am not sure of the exact date," Mr Tremain replied.

He said as he was not in Parliament when the speech was made, and that Chris Tremain had not done a lot of research at that point.

"He was very aware of the cultural significance of the area though and wanted to support that."

He added that the 2ha that under the proposal would not be classed wahi taonga was very steep and would require significant earthworks to build on.

On the Maungaharuru Range, the trust was also calling for wahi taonga sites at Toronui and Rimu stations, the landowners of which also gave evidence at court on Thursday.

Toronui Station trustee Andrew Thomas said 215ha of wahi taonga had been proposed on his farm, and that the size of the area could make life difficult.

"If you have only got a small site it's very easy to avoid doing something on that, you can do it somewhere else, but when you are talking about an area over 200ha it's not that easy to avoid, such as getting access to the back of the property."

If it were a smaller area of a few hectares he said he would not have so much of a problem, but no one had approached him to discuss this possibility.

He also stated he felt the council's classification of the land as an outstanding natural landscape carried enough controls on activities to protect the area.

Denis Bell, director of Rimu Station, said he felt the same way about his land, but would still be challenging a wahi taonga proposal, even if it involved a smaller area of land.

In its submission the trust said Te Mata Peak, and the recreational track up its side, was a modern example of the failure of councils and parties in New Zealand to identify and apply the provisions of the RMA (and planning documents) to Māori culture and traditions and their role as kaitiaki.

The hearing was adjourned on Thursday to await evidence from a trust kaumatua who was unable to attend this week due to being involved in an accident.