Foxton Beach Coast Care - Call for Support

[Jerry]

Have been asked to pass on this invite for any interested ORE members. there is a 4wd trip after the cleanup (please ensure your trucks are up to the vehicle requirements) you can contact Grant below for more info or myself
SAT 13th Sept

Hi there,

Foxton Beach 4wd access is about to be officially reduced. The new draft Foxton Beach Management Plan is out.

All is not lost though – here’s your opportunity to help with the good cause to get the best access we can.

This coming Saturday morning 13 September we’re running the annual clean-up at Foxton Beach, as part of the Keep NZ Beautiful campaign. These clean-ups are a way for the 4wd community to contribute to the areas we use, and are seen by local communities and councils as a good deed that keeps us in their good books.

Then there’s a free BBQ for the workers, along with a meeting of Foxton Beach Coast Care where the new draft management plan will be discussed and your views will be sought to support submissions to the council about the plan.

Your support at the clean-up and meeting would be really appreciated. Details follow below...


The Management Plan

Foxton Beach has long been a popular 4wd destination, with lots of fun in the bowls area and up the McKenzie Trail. Most people will be aware that increasing safety issues over recent years have led to calls to restrict 4wd activity. Police control and the beach wardens have been used to reinforce this.

While we all know that it’s the idiotic few (mainly on fast quads and motocross bikes) who’ve been spoiling it for the rest of us, nonetheless the wider game is changing. The population and demographics of Foxton Beach are changing, there’s an increasing number of people on foot in the bowls area, public safety has a much greater focus than in the past, and environmental awareness is increasingly more significant to many people.

During consultation while the new management plan was being drafted, our input included ideas about protecting the foredunes and ways to improve behaviours and safety, while also allowing responsible 4wd access. These ideas were listened to and seem to have been used to some extent in drafting the new plan.

We accept that it unfortunately does make sense to close the majority of the bowls area to off-roading. This is balanced though by a greater recognition of the northern area for us, centred around the McKenzie Trial. In our submission we’ll be strengthening the case to double the tracks in this area, so there is a round-trip arrangement to reduce the risks with opposing traffic. Councillors and council officers who were at the last public meeting seemed to think this was a good idea.

However, we don’t know what other people will be saying in their submissions. For all we know, there could be lots of people who tell the council that 4wd access should be further reduced.

So it is really really important that the views and past and current contribution of the 4wd community are put forward for council to consider in the light of other submissions that potentially oppose 4wd access.

The draft of the new management plan is now available for public consultation on the website of the Horowhenua District Council http://www.horowhenua.govt.nz. The exact link for the document is http://www.horowhenua.govt.nz/Council/P ... ment+Plan/

If you have trouble downloading it, contact me by email and I can forward it to you.

Clean-up Work Party

The annual Keep NZ Beautiful campaign gets under way this month. As usual the Cross Country Vehicle Club has organised clean-ups around the place, including the Waitarere Beach and Foxton Beach clean-ups scheduled for next weekend, Saturday 13 September at 9:30am.

These aren’t too hard, just picking up mainly plastic litter and a few other things, into KNZB rubbish bags that we’ll bring along. Bigger stuff can go straight into the trucks and trailers we’ll have there, which will take the bags etc to the local transfer station, where the council has provided us with a free pass.

Foxton Beach: Meet at the bird sanctuary bollards at 9:30am, just a few metres past the entrance to the motor camp (not the caravan park). I’ll be running this one, 021-612 216.

Waitarere: Meet at surf club car park, 9:30am. Marcel van Dorrestein will be in charge, 027-243 243.

Free BBQ

This will be at Foxton Beach starting at about 12:00. It will be free and is intended for the workers who were on the clean-ups.

Location is likely to be the Holben Pavilion (formerly known as the PALS Building) at Foxton Beach, by the kids playground opposite the Simply Balmy cafe. I’ll let you know if the location changes.

Coast Care Meeting about the Draft Coastal Management Plan

Foxton Beach Coast Care (FBCC) will have an open meeting on the management plan, to highlight the main parts of the plan and to seek input so as to help frame its submission to council. This will be useful for each club, as hopefully they’ll all be able to make submissions too.

The meeting will start at about 12:30, while you’re munching on sausages, and will include a short AGM just because FBCC has to have one.

Your attendance would be really appreciated please, to ensure enough numbers for the AGM and to get the best from you all in the way of feedback and ideas.

Location will be the same place as the BBQ, which is likely to be the Holben Pavilion at Foxton Beach, by the kids playground opposite the Simply Balmy cafe. I’ll let you know if the location changes.

Afternoon 4wd Trip

Following the meeting, CCVC will run a 4wd trip up the McKenzie Trail – members of FBCC associate clubs welcome, provided they helped at the Foxton or Waitarere clean-ups and attended the Coast Care meeting. Start time about 1:30 or so, depending on when the meeting finishes.

This trip is not really suitable for novices. Drivers need some experience, trucks need to be quite capable and be fitted with proper equipment including 4wd tow hooks. Some minor scratches and panel bumps are possible.

Passengers will be welcome; there are normally some spare seats available.

In summary, the timetable is:

Saturday 13 September 2008
9:30 – Clean-up – meet at the Bird Sanctuary Bollards just past the motor camp entrance, as usual, or the Waitarere surf club car park
12:00 – free BBQ – Holben Pavilion (location to be confirmed)
12:30 – Coast Care meeting to discuss Coastal Management Plan
13:30 approx – 4wd trip – McKenzie Trail.

Regards Grant Purdie.
M 021-612 216