Sorting out the public access issue on Lowburn Station looks set to be a matter for Commissioner of Crown Lands Dave Gullen and the tenure review process.
Station owners David Mclean and Anne Neilsen have closed two walking tracks that cross their Crown leasehold land because of concerns over public safety and a lack of easements.
• Public access to land 'far from ideal'
Tthe Roaring Meg and Cardrona-Cromwell pack tracks have been used for centuries, firstly by Maori and later by gold miners, trampers and mountain bikers.
The tracks have been managed by Doc in more recent times, but neither is on a paper road or has an easement.
Land Information New Zealand group manager Crown property John Hook told the Otago Daily Times yesterday the "only mechanism for the Commissioner of Crown Lands granting public access instruments over Crown pastoral lease land is by tenure review''.
Lowburn Station is in tenure review and public access "will be considered as part of this review'', Mr Hook said.
Ms Neilsen told the ODT the station had been involved in tenure review with Linz for more than six years and had lost hope of an early resolution.
The station owners want part of the Cardrona-Cromwell track shifted so it does not interfere with their farming operations.
Ms Neilsen said yesterday, after reading a further email from Linz, she understood "we could have left the tracks open''.
However, it would have meant the station would have to create a new track "which, though costly, is something to consider for the future''.
WHAT IT MEANS
Tenure review is a voluntary process under the Crown Pastoral Land Act 1998 allowing farmers leasing Crown land to negotiate, via Land Information New Zealand, the freehold ownership of more productive land. As part of the process, some land is transferred to the Department of Conservation.
Source: linz.govt.nz
