Press release 29-April 2010
WOW (Walking on Water) Incorporated
A volunteer community group representing the communities of Haumoana, Te Awanga and Clifton

Cape Coast cycleway risks washout without protection

Cape Coast residents are wondering how serious local authorities are about winning government funding for the Haumoana and Te Awanga leg of the National Cycleway Project, if they’re not prepared to protect it from inundation by the sea.
The cycle track will run along some of the most vulnerable parts of the coast where the crest has been significantly weakened since the big waves in March. The Walking on Water (WOW) group, while fully supportive of the cycle track, believes it may be a costly and wasted exercise unless local authorities agree to work together to support a proposed groyne field and beach crest strengthening.

One of the government’s main criteria for the selection of the cycleway route, was that any identified risks could be resolved at reasonable cost and within a reasonable timeframe, says WOW spokesperson Keith Newman

WOW is concerned that not enough is being done, particularly by the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council to mitigate existing risks to the proposed 2.5 metre wide track which will pass along the beach side of Beach Rd south and Clifton Rd.

“The Rotary Pathways Trust and Hastings District Council are engaging in significant fundraising toward the cost of the cycle track but local businesses and the community will be reluctant to support or help fund the project if parts of the track are going to be washed away in the next storm,” says Newman.
The Hawke’s Bay section, the “Heretaunga Ararau: Land of a Hundred Pathways” trail through the Tukituki Valley out to Te Awanga and Haumoana, was one of 13 locations selected from 54 applications for the second stage of the government’s $50 million funding.
The Cape Coast was chosen as part of the cycleway because of the “iconic nature of the location and its unique point of difference as part of the national package,” says Venture Hawke’s Bay general manager Janet Takarangi.

She says it will be essential to get the community on board with the cycleway and to show they’re ready with product that builds on the strength of the tourism experience being offered along the coast.

The main responsibility for driving the track forward lies with Hawke’s Bay Regional Council which, with additional funding from Tourism New Zealand, is conducting a feasibility study due for completion at the end of May.

While on the one hand HBRC and Venture Hawke’s Bay are championing the cycle track as an important regional asset, some HBRC officers have made it clear it’s not worth protecting.

HBRC river and design engineer Neil Daykin told WOW there are “no plans to protect low value assets such as the lime sand pathway sections”. While some of the existing lime sand pathways are occasionally flooded with minimal damage, he says the clean up and repair is also minimal. “We do not envisage any problems with the proposed routes.”
The Ministry of Tourism says the cycle track is meant to ‘create jobs through design construction and maintenance”, bring economic benefits for the tourist sectors and the regional economy, and be perceived as “a high quality tourism asset.’
WOW has been part of the Joint Councils Working Group evaluating ‘hard engineering’ and ‘managed retreat’ options for the Cape Coast and is about to present a business plan for a cost effective groyne field to Hastings District Council as part of its Annual Plan submissions.

While HBRC has stated it cannot be seen to support or oppose these plans, WOW is concerned statements by HBRC Group Manager Asset Management Mike Adye, reveal entrenched opposition to any form of hard protection along the coast.

In an email to WOW on 15 March, copied to HBRC executives, Mr Adye stated:
“The national community wants natural beaches around the New Zealand coastline. The regional community also wants natural beaches along the Hawke’s Bay coastline. These two positions are set out in the National Coastal Policy Statement and the proposed Regional Coastal Environment Plan respectively.
WOW is seeking something that is fundamentally different from what the national and regional communities want. I do not see how a partnership approach to addressing the issue can be achieved when WOW and Council do not share the same vision.”
WOW wonders what level of consultation there has been between different parts of the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council over the proposed cycletrack. “On the one hand they’re promoting the track as a regional asset and on the other saying it is not of sufficient value to protect. I don’t think that’s what the government has in mind when it talks about creating a high quality tourism asset.”

Despite ongoing erosion problems over several decades the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council has refused to act to protect the Cape Coast, other than to protect its own assets with the groynes at the river mouth and at East Clive protecting the sewage plant.

WOW sees the cycle track as an opportunity for HBRC, HDC, Venture Hawke’s Bay and other stakeholders, including the Cape Coast residents, to work together on a common solution that benefits everyone.
“If this is to become the showcase area that the application for government funding states it is, WOW would like see both councils backing hard protection and contributing to a beautification scheme to ensure attractive rest spots, seating, public artworks and information spots created along the beachfront.”
Newman says a field of groynes, as proposed by WOW, would not only protect the cycle track but open up huge potential for restored confidence and recreational and tourism growth along the Cape Coast.

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