Opponents of a parliamentary decision to clarify land at Forrester Heights in Oamaru as endowment land and not reserve land say the closure of the adjacent Cape Wanbrow recreational reserve vindicates their position.
The reserve was closed two weeks ago, after heavy rain and high winds felled trees in the pine plantation and Waitaki Ratepayers and Concerned Citizens' Association chairman Warren Crawford yesterday said the fact that the Waitaki District Council was still in the process of clearing dangerous trees, showed there had been legitimate concerns regarding the area's suitability for development.
''We are quite concerned about the condition of the cape, and Forrester Heights is just part of that area. It is concerning us that people now are even considering building on it or developing it.''
He added that following news in Monday's Otago Daily Times that the cape reserve remained closed, because of further tree falls, a petition put forward by the association to make the whole area a nature reserve, had received ''overwhelming'' support.
Mr Crawford could not reveal how many people had signed the petition, but said the association was ''pretty excited'' about the level of support. The Waitaki District Council Reserves and Other Land Empowering Act was passed by Parliament in March and overturned a 50-year-old administrative error that noted Forrester Heights as reserve land.
The error was discovered when a proposed 22-section subdivision on a 5.8ha of Forrester Heights land was put forward by the council but had to be halted.
So far, the Waitaki District Council has not announced any intention to proceed with the subdivision.
