A meeting was scheduled to take place between the Waimakariri District Council and its logging contractor after the beloved site was given the axe last month, leaving locals furious.
Waimakariri Mayor Dan Gordon told Local Democracy Reporting a fortnight ago the council had instructed its logging contractor to avoid damage to the area.
"We are meeting with them shortly to learn more about what happened and why," he said.
"Our intention is to work with the community to ensure this community treasure is restored."
Follow up questions were sent to council around whether an explanation had been found and future plans for the site.
"The site as a whole is being remediated at the moment after the commercial forestry harvest.
"Once it is more clear of harvest debris our intention is to visit the site with the Te Kohaka o Tuhaitara Trust and put together a way forward with input from the community."
Residents have been left outraged following the destruction after council indicated the spot was to be preserved, despite ongoing remediation work in the pine forest area.
Some upset locals were even calling for an apology over what had happened.
The community-built haven, also referred to by locals as "The Shack", was established several years ago, among an area of pine forest.
A scrub fire in January 2021, which forced the evacuations of several Pines Beach homes, destroyed dozens of hectares of surrounding forest area.
A council information notice issued in March confirmed efforts to protect the area as part of ongoing salvage work following the blaze.
“While some damage is unavoidable, every effort is being made to preserve the area - with trees felled and extracted away from it wherever possible.”
-By Adam Burns
Local Democracy Reporter
