Whau Local Board has revoked a decision made in the previous term to revoke the reserve status at Saunders Reserve following a review of the advice provided to make the decision.
The original decision, in October 2018, was made to address a historical issue with the West End Rowing club’s operation on the land. The interpretation of the Reserves Act that the board acted on did not allow the club to operate as a venue for hire as a fundraising activity, to groups who were not members.
Following the decision to revoke the status and correspondence from the Tree Council over the interpretation of the advice, a review took place.
The review found that it was now considered that the location of, and activities of the Rowing Club are not prohibited under the Reserves Act, so it was not necessary for the current status to be revoked in order for those activities to continue.
Resolution
Whau Local Board Chair Kay Thomas says that she is pleased a resolution to the issue has been found.
“The issue of the reserve status at Saunders Reserve generated a lot of interest at the time. As a board, we fully appreciate the hard work that goes into providing the advice needed for decisions to be made.
“The proper process was followed, and the interpretation of the Reserves Act was acted upon.
“We are grateful for the Tree Council for bringing this matter to our attention, and for staff who revisited the advice originally given.
"Because of the intervention we had not formally sent the request to the Department of Conservation, so the status of the land had not been changed, and this is a simple revocation of a previous board decision.
“Now we can make the necessary steps to classify the land and deal with the West End Rowing Club lease, which will be presented to us at a later date.”
