Consultants working as part of the Te Mata Project Team are nearing completion of the first stage of the three-phase process being used to find a suitable option for the walking track on the eastern side of Te Mata Peak.

The Project Team, whose members include external consultants, mana whenua representatives and council officers, has been brought together by the Hastings District Council.

Phase one started in May 2018 with the Project Team working on the cultural, landscape, ecological, recreational and engineering assessments of the eastern escarpment of Te Mata Rongokako, an Outstanding Natural Landscape area. Those reports are expected to be completed in the coming weeks.

The Project Team will then enter into phase two, which will see the group assessing different track options against all the cultural, landscape and other technical information gathered in phase one.

Hastings Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst says Council hopes public consultation on the track options will begin in October. “Staff are currently planning what that consultation process will look like and how long it will run.”

She says Council has also been meeting regularly with the Te Mata Track Reference Group – a wider group of key stakeholders and interested parties including Ngāti Kahungunu Iwi Incorporated, Craggy Range Winery, Te Taiwhenua o Heretaunga, Te Mata Park Trust, Te Mata Peak Peoples’ Track Society, Hastings District Council, Hawke’s Bay Regional Council and Waimarama Marae – to keep them updated on the Project Team’s work.

Mrs Hazlehurst says the Reference Group are working together to support the process and are looking forward to seeing all the information being gathered and the community consulted.

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