Whanganui council could buy land to open up access to Matipo Park

The usual access to Matipo Park has been closed for three years. Photo / Bevan Conley

Whanganui District Council is in negotiations to purchase land to provide public access to Matipo Park.

The park, reached from Brunswick Rd, was donated to the people of Whanganui in 1912 as a place of recreation.

It's used by walkers and mountain bikers and there has been "some public frustration" over access to it.

The usual route into Whanganui's Matipo Park is restricted by a damaged bridge, the need to walk across private land and the lack of a railway level crossing.

People used to pass freely over the land between Brunswick Rd and the park but the owner has started saying they have no right to be there, Whanganui District Council's property and community services committee has been told.

The land was surveyed in April last year, and council is now negotiating to buy the access strip, council's parks team leader Wendy Bainbridge said.

However the seller is setting conditions, such as the ability to freely exercise horses in the park - which could conflict with mountain bike use.

There are two other barriers to the access. A bridge on the route was closed in the 2018 summer, deemed unsafe after inspection by an engineer. Money was put aside to fix it but the repair has waited until other access issues are settled.

And there has never been a legal level crossing for the railway line between the bridge and the park. An engineer has designed a crossing, which will cost the council $10,000 to $15,000, but KiwiRail has not yet approved it.

"This has been going on for a long time. It would be really nice to get this resolved," committee chairwoman Helen Craig said.