Taff and Penny Cochrane say concerns about antisocial behaviour by some visitors to the valley and frustration at having lambs and calves mis-mothered and run over by motorists, forced them to install a gate and restrict access over their pastoral lease during lambing and calving, from October 11 to November 26.
The Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) has applied to the High Court at Dunedin for an injunction seeking the gate's removal on the basis the road has been maintained by public funds and "generations of locals had enjoyed accessing, fishing and camping," at the Department of Conservation's (Doc) Kidds Bush campsite.
Ray Macleod, the manager of Landward Group and spokesman for the Cochranes, said the gate would be open over Labour Weekend, from midday on Friday until early the following Tuesday morning, but with signs asking motorists to keep their speed down.
The gate was placed on pastoral lease land, not road reserve, he said, and the Cochranes were exercising property and access rights allowed by their pastoral lease.
Mr Macleod was bemused by QLDC's stance, saying it appeared they had little understanding about what the Cochranes were doing.
"There was never any proposal to close the road permanently.
What Hunter Valley has done is no different from any other farming practice of simply restricting access during the lambing and calving seasons for animal welfare reasons."
But QLDC chief executive Debra Lawson said there has been a history of access up the valley and while she accepted the need for controls during lambing and calving, she said the local community respected that.
"We intend to protect the community's right of passage to this beautiful and special location."
She could not comment on the status of land on which the gate was sited, and said 27 people had supported the council's injunction application with affidavits.
Mr Macleod said the Cochranes had been in discussion with some regular users of the Kidds Bush camp, who claim they had been misled by lawyers acting for the QLDC who incorrectly said the gate would be permanently closed.
Ms Lawson could not comment on this claim.
The Otago Daily Times yesterday inspected the gate, which was not padlocked, to be met by staff and pupils from Hawea Flat School who had spent the day fishing at Kidds Bush after getting permission from the lessee.
The Cochranes advertised their intention to restrict access in the ODT on October 2 and later made an offer to the QLDC to open the road over Labour Weekend with conditions.
Those included Doc preparing a management plan for Kidds Bush over the weekend, including policing the area for dogs, firearms, four-wheel-drives, and that they ensured adherence to camp rules.
The Cochranes also asked for a point of contact at Doc should events get out of hand.
Mr Macleod said the QLDC never acknowledged that offer.
He said the behaviour of some who used the Doc camping ground had been deteriorating, as alcohol bans elsewhere in Central Otago pushed people to more remote areas such as Kidds Bush, but the Cochranes say they have had little assistance from Doc or the QLDC to address those problems.
No date has yet been set for the injunction to be heard.
