Members of the Pirongia Horse Riders Club at the reserve in Sainsbury Rd, Pirongia. Photo / Supplied
Horse riders, walkers and runners will have priority in Pirongia’s Sainsbury Road Reserve under a new management plan adopted by the Waipā District Council.
The new plan will have the reserve planted exclusively with native species, aligning with the Taiea te Taioa Ecological Corridor project. This project aims to restore
an ecological corridor between Maungatautari and Pirongia along the Mangapiko River and the Ngāparierua Stream.
The plan was adopted by the district council’s strategic planning and policy committee in June with the support of a community stakeholder group.
District council community services manager Brad Ward said the group, which included representatives from mana whenua, the horse riding community, the lessee, the mountain biking community, the Taiea te Taiao Ecological Corridor project and a representative from the sustainable forestry sector had been “instrumental” in driving the plan.
“They provided very good direction and did a lot of work to encourage community input into the process. We’re very confident the reserve will be developed in line with community aspirations and mana whenua values, so that’s a great outcome.”
