A Bay of Plenty beach community is split over the rules for quad bike use at the Waiotahe Drifts subdivsion, with those in favour saying it could save lives.

The issue came to the fore at a Ōpōtiki District Council meeting last week when around 13 people filled the council chambers in support of four speakers.

It comes after bollards and signs blocking vehicle beach access were illegally removed over summer, with the damage reported to police.

Ōpōtiki’s mayor and district councillors are hoping that a community meeting will result in a solution.

In December, after residents raised concerns about quad bikers, the council directed staff to investigate options to provide legal vehicular access through an established boardwalk.

This drew the ire of some residents who said the reason they bought property in the subdivision was because the resource consent stipulated that vehicle access to the beach was not permitted.

At last week’s meeting, Waiotahe Drifts residents Sharon Oxley and Ross Palmer presented the council with a letter signed by 15 others in support of sticking to the status quo.

Mrs Oxley said they also supported council enforcing restrictions by tracking down offenders, replacing vandalised signs and bollards and providing clear guidance to residents and other beach users regarding the rules.

She said unchecked use raised significant safety concerns, damaged the dunes and impacted the quality of life of many residents.

Mr Palmer said he was disappointed the council hadn’t nipped the issue in the bud years ago by enforcing the rules.

He said if people had read the resource conditions, they would have know they couldn’t ride their quad bikes wherever they wanted.

"I wouldn’t have bought a section next to a place that allowed motor vehicles. I bought that section because it was a pedestrian walkway.”

Waiotahe Drifts property owners Graham Thompson and Mike Gallagher both spoke in support of vehicle access to the beach.

Mr Thompson said he was disappointed an activity that created a great family environment and helped everyone access fishing was considered wrong.

“A lot of them are elderly folk who are not so able to walk down there ... or families taking their kids down to play on the beach. “

He said he has used his quad bike to get his boat to the beach on several occasions when people needed rescuing.

“One day someone came close to drowning because we couldn’t get a vehicle through there once the bollards went up.”

Council planning and regulatory group manager Gerard McCormack recommended maintaining the status quo.

His report outlined the substantial regulatory processes that would be needed to allow vehicles to access the beach through the boardwalk.

These included obtaining resource consent through the Bay of Plenty Regional Council, amending the district council’s current bylaw and making changes to the Ōpōtiki Reserve Management Plan.

A planning consultant would need to be engaged. The changes could be publicly notified and possibly end up in the Environment Court.

The cost to council could be anywhere between $50,000 and $200,000, could take several years and was unlikely to be approved under current legislation.

Councillor Barry Howe said that in his view, people moved to Ōpōtiki because of the fishing and the beaches.

“We’re a food-gathering community and it’s pretty obvious to me that we need to come to a compromise here so people can access the beach to fish. You can’t carry these kontiki and the modern fishing sophisticated gear mean they need vehicles to access the beach."

A footpath connecting Waiotahe Drifts Boulevard to the boardwalk has also been subject to vandalism and quad bike use.

He said people needed to work together.

“It’s a waste of time working against one another. A public meeting’s a way to do it.”

Councillor Tom Brooks pointed out the wording of the conditions of the resource consent only prevent vehicular access “except to designated areas”.

“So, obviously there’s provision here to designated areas for vehicular access; it’s just a matter of where that could be. I think a public meeting would be really good as a way of coming together to try to work out a solution.”

Mayor David Moore suggested the issue be left on the table pending a community meeting, which was agreed to by all councillors.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.