Local Focus: Access denied through public land planted in kiwifruit for just $2 a year

The public has the right to access council land subject to peppercorn rentals in Hastings - a right that occasionally causes tension.

Hastings District Council says it does not know how many peppercorn agreements it has made for the use public land, typically to neighbouring landowners.

Council general counsel Scott Smith said over the years there could have been thousands of agreements made, many with previous local-government entities.

"They serve two purposes," he said.

"It means that the land is made use of, if there is no public use for it at the time.

"But it also saves money for the ratepayers because we don't have to upkeep that section of road."

He said the public still had access to the land.

"That can cause some problems in some situations, especially in the rural area where people have right of access across some farms.

"That can cause problems for some farming operations.

"So, often there are things to work through, but generally it works pretty well."

One such agreement runs from the end of the 50m sealed section Flanders Rd, off Napier Rd near Havelock North, down to the Karamu Stream.

Towards the stream the paper road widens to accommodate any future bridge across the stream to St Georges Rd.

These kiwifruit orchard on Flanders Road in Havelock North are planted on public land by a neighbour, who is denying public access to the Karamu Stream along the paper road. Photo / Patrick O'Sullivan

The 1974 agreement to occupy the 1.4ha of Heretaunga Plains land is for just $2 a year.

Kiwifruit grows on the land and neighbour Robert Flanders said he has plans to plant more.

"I lease this in perpetuity and it is my land," he said.

Council said the licence to occupy did not include buildings and in 2019 instructed Flanders to move or disassemble the buildings within 9 months.

But by mid 2021 he had still not complied.

Smith said while council could rescind the agreement it was working with Flanders to remove the unconsented buildings and persuade him to allow public access but it was "not an urgent task" and there was little demand from anyone else to use the land.

"I heard a whisper that the regional council might be thinking about something along the Karamu Stream, but I haven't heard anything from them about that."

Flanders said any cycle path along the Karamu Stream could not exit to Flanders Road because he had exclusive use of the land.

To add to Flander's local-government woes, the Hawke's Bay Regional Council said last month it called the fire brigade to put out a fire on the paper road.

The fire was inside the Hastings winter air shed, where open fires are banned in winter to prevent air pollution.

Flanders said he "phoned everyone" to make sure the fire was legal.

The regional council said Flanders had received bad advice about fires and it would not prosecute.

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