Landowners are the priority group for engagement and consultation.

 

The Board and project team will over time meet with landowners to:

Where the trail is proposed to follow mapped paper roads, the underlying former ownership will continue to have priority in negotiations (landowners).

 

Te Ara Tipuna will provide benefits and opportunities for landowners and their whanau, including:

The Whenua Maori Service from Te Puni Kokiri is working alongside the project team to ensure whenua Maori landowners are supported, including assisting ungoverned landblocks to establish governance structures.

 

Herenga a Nuku (formerly the Walking Access Commission) is also working alongside the project team and will support landowners where needed with legal instruments and explain what these mean for their whenua. They have done this for many other well-established trails across Aotearoa.

1. What do you want from us (landowners)?

We want to meet and engage with you to share more about the project, how it impacts your whenua, and the opportunities it could unlock. In order for us to develop Te Ara Tipuna (TAT), we need to reach agreement with each landblock/trust along the Ara. At the point that the track is to be developed across your whenua, we will negotiate a legal easement with you.

2. What support is available for landowners?

You can get in touch with the Te Ara Tipuna project team at [email protected] to discuss your specific enquiry

3. What options do we have, as landowners, to support the project?

At this stage of the Consenting process there are two levels of support that we are seeking. They are: 

• A general supportive submission for the overall TAT kaupapa;  
• and/or a specific agreement in principle to your landblock being involved. 

At the point that the track is to be developed across your whenua, we will negotiate a legal easement with you.  

4. How can I generally help support Te Ara Tipuna be a success?

You can support by: 

• Talking to your fellow trustees, landowners, whanau and friends about TAT 
• Asking people to complete the Support Submission on our website 
• Keep in touch with our TAT team to see if there is anything else you can do to help 
• Speaking well of this kaupapa! 

5. I’m happy with the trail crossing my whenua, but can I move it from where it is currently proposed to go?

Possibly. We are happy to discuss what you think a better option might be, and whether it could be accommodated within the Consent guidelines. To note - the current route has been assessed by technical experts across a range of disciplines (see Consent Questions for further detail). 

6. Are you proposing to build a boardwalk across my whenua?

95% of the Ara will be wayfaring across the natural state of the whenua.  

Kei te pai! We will work with you to include necessary caveats in the easement agreement to ensure you are comfortable with the arrangements for the Ara crossing your whenua. For example, you may wish to include “No crossing during lambing time” as a caveat. However, the point of the Ara is that it is a continuous trail. So we would need to work together to identify potential alternatives, such as perhaps a different route during sensitive farming times.  

8. Who will be responsible for the track across my whenua?

You, the landowner, will be chiefly responsible. We aim to begin an ancillary project at the end of 2024 to co-design a ‘kawa’ for the Ara. This will be for both landowners and users of the trail. 

We are also working toward developing partnerships with Department of Conservation to support and establish maintenance and management standards. 

9. What if the landowner does not want Te Ara Tipuna to go over their whenua/land?

Then that stage of Te Ara Tipuna cannot be built. This is an opt-in kaupapa that relies on agreement all the way along. We hope people will see the benefits and opportunities Te Ara Tipuna will bring to landowners, whanau, hapu, and their whenua. 

10. What if the hapu does not want Te Ara Tipuna to cross land within their rohe?

The views of hapu will be taken into account during negotiations concerning the Ara but the final decision on whether the trail is to cross an owner’s land or not will be made by the landowner/s.