The Milford-Takapuna Walkway is an enjoyable walk along the beaches and coastline from Milford Reserve to Takapuna Beach. The coastal access is great and appreciated by many. Property owners along the informal coastal route have let walkers cross their private properties for many years. Late in 2023 a short strip of the route - on private land - was closed, but has sinced reopened in October 2024. Here’s what happened.
Many people have thought that the whole informal coastal route was owned and maintained by the council. But in reality, the route crosses 72 private properties, with no formal legal agreements around this for many years. Access across the 'foot' of all properties has been at the goodwill of the various property owners.
Before Auckland Council was formed in 2010, the former local council began an upgrade programme. But the North Shore City Council and then Auckland Council found that a major upgrade would be almost impossible, due to the significant ongoing costs and complexities of constructing a safe and resilient coastal route, suitably future-proofed against large swells and storms.
Instead, the council then looked at what it could effectively do with sections of the route on public land and began working with some of the landowners on plans for long-term legal access. This came sharply into focus after a major storm early in 2011, when a significant raised wooden section built mainly on private land, was washed away.
Impasse?
From mid-2012 the council began to progress discussions with the owners of a number of Kitchener Road properties, including the now closed site.
One property at 9 Kitchener Road includes a small bach-like dwelling built in theearly-1900s. This was once occupied by notable mid-century photographer Clifton Firth. More about this building later.
During a long period of unsuccessful negotiation, the conditions of sale initially required by the family included the council paying 50 per cent market value for the property (with the family gifting the other 50 per cent); the dwelling being restored by a conservation architect at the council’s cost; use of the dwelling for a trust-run artist-in-residence programme and overall responsibility for all costs associated with the restoration, trust and ongoing management of the property taken on by the council.
The council obtained condition assessments of the land and buildings and valuations. Further negotiations did not progress due to the sale conditions sought by the owners and differences in property valuations between the parties.
More recently, both parties discussed the council buying a public pedestrian access easement across the sea-side foot of the property. The family’s sale conditions included a 1.5m wide easement, the council paying the equivalent of (around $70,000) outstanding rates on the property, the council building a physical barrier between the easement and the rest of the property, and the council removing the Heritage A scheduling from the property.
The owner who had lived on the property passed away in 2021 before matters could be finalised and the council’s relationship with the family transferred to his beneficiaries. Informal public access across the property as part of the coastal walk carried on until September 2023, when public access to the property was fenced off, until reopened in October 2024.
Negotiations between the council and the owners (a family) of 9 Kitchener Road to create legal public access across the property established that the owners were keen for the council to buy the whole property, with conditions.
In 2024, the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board (on behalf of the council) declined the offer to purchase the entire property due to the sale terms offered by the owners. The local board said it was open to future negotiations for a public access easement and reserves the right to negotiate public access with any future owner of the property.
Heritage status adds a unique layer
The Clifton Firth Residence is a scheduled historic heritage place in the Auckland Unitary Plan. Classed as a Category A historic heritage place – the highest category – it is considered to be of outstanding significance.
Why? Modest houses, baches or ‘weekenders’ used to line this coast and this is a surviving architectural example of how Takapuna used to be. Clifton Firth is particularly known as a portrait photographer and member of North Shore’s artistic community. The rustic simplicity of his seaside home illustrates an aspect of his life and personal aesthetic. The house’s shoreline setting and large pohutukawa in the garden are also notable features of the Milford-Takapuna route.
The Firth Residence was proposed to be included in North Shore City Council’s district plan heritage schedule. This carried through to the new Auckland Council via a plan change (Plan Change 38) and the Auckland Unitary Plan. Plan Change 10 in 2018 further confirmed the extent of place (the area subject to the historic heritage overlay). There were no submissions received to oppose including the house in either plan, or the extent of place.
Why spend public money on a private property?
In 2023 council staff reviewed prior instructions to negotiate with property owners against its open space provision and acquisition policies.
A well thought-out and policy-based approach in place ensures that the council applies fair and consistent consideration to these sorts of decisions and requests, no matter where in the region it is spending ratepayer money. We must also consider the wider context, which in this case is the impact a tailored decision for one landowner may have on the expectations of the other 71 current or future property owners along the route.
When assessed against our policies, it is difficult to recommend acquiring this property based on:
- The significant amount of open space already available in this area
- The site’s steep terrain offering few recreational or open space outcomes
- The state of the heritage building, the cost of its restoration and upkeep, and no demonstrated need for its use as a retreat.
And considering the Milford-Takapuna route in its entirety, this is not a wholly-owned or maintained council walkway, with significant health and safety challenges along its route that are outside the council’s control to adequately manage – whether from an ownership or natural environment perspective.
Can the heritage status be lifted?
The process to remove heritage schedule status would be by a council-initiated plan change at the council’s cost, or a private plan change by the owners, at their cost.
Removing a place from the heritage schedule is a similar process to adding a place. It would require a heritage evaluation, stating why the place may now not meet the plan’s criteria and thresholds for heritage protection. It would then be subject to the plan change process, requiring planning analysis and (if council initiated) political approval for notification.
The plan change would then seek submissions and be considered at a hearing by a panel of independent commissioners. The panel would make the decision whether or not to remove the place from the heritage schedule, depending on the submissions and evidence received from other parties.
Community support
On 28 September 2023, the council’s Governing Body received a petition from the Takapuna Resident’s Association, with 5,121 signatures when it was presented. The petition asked elected members to “achieve urgent resolution for continued public access to the section of the Coastal Walkway from Takapuna to Milford that crosses private property past the Firth Cottage and forms part of the national Te Araroa Trail”.
The property’s owners, as was their right, established a fence at their land boundaries to stop public access through their property. This reflected their frustration at not being able to negotiate an agreement with the council that satisfied their conditions.
The Council and Local Board's more recent involvement
Since March 2024
Late in 2023, the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board was delegated responsibility to find a local solution to resolve the closed walkway through the bottom of the property at 9 Kitchener Road. In December 2023, the Local Board received a final conditional offer to purchase the property from the Firth Estate.
Having met with family representatives of the Firth Estate, the Local Board reconsidered the proposed sale terms for 9 Kitchener Road, the potential and available funding, the significance of the property to the Takapuna-to-Milford informal coastal route, and its associated heritage values.
After considering all these factors, the local board was unable to identify an existing budget or alternative funding options to accommodate the cost and conditional requirements of the terms. Therefore the Local Board declined the Firth Estate's non-negotiable option to acquire the property and accepts that it would be offered to the open market.
The Local Board remains open to negotiating a public access easement on the property title, at the further discretion of the Firth Estate or a future owner.
- The minutes and resolutions of the 19 March Devonport-Takapuna Local Board meeting are here.
November 2023
The council’s Planning, Environment and Parks Committee considered an item relating to informal walkway public access on Thursday 30 November 2023.
- Read the agenda items here
- Watch the Planning, Environment and Parks Committee meeting here and public input here
- Minutes of the meeting will be available on the council’s website.
How to access the walkway
If a detour is required, walkers can detour safely using Audrey Lane, Kitchener Road, Hurstmere Road and Minnehaha Avenue to return to the coastal walkway (see map below).
- Click here for more information.
