Removing a controversial walking track up the Eastern side of Te Mata Peak would leave the landscape in a worse condition than it currently is, Craggy Range Winery says.
A concept image shows the track hidden behind vegetation Photo: Supplied
The winery promised to remove the track it created following a public backlash, including from local iwi, who were not consulted.
It has presented five options for fixing the track to all stakeholders this morning.
Craggy Range chief executive Michael Wilding said removing the track completely was not as simple as previously thought.
The best option would be to keep the track but plant the 4.9 hectares surrounding it with native flora, hiding it from view, he said.
Achieving an outcome that satisfied everyone was almost impossible without compromise, he said.
"After listening to mana whenua and the community back in December, my proposal was motivated by a principled belief that removing the track was the right thing to do for the community, iwi and the landscape."
However, after receiving "extensive expert landscape and legal advice" he was more informed about the legal and resource consent implications of the proposal.
"It is now very clear that removing the track is not as simple as we, or others, thought, and nor will it achieve an outcome to everyone's satisfaction," Mr Wilding said.
"We are simply not prepared to take a direction that will leave the land in a worse condition and one that involves us in further contentious arguments about whether the track should be closed."
Among those at this morning's meeting were Hastings Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst and District Council chief executive Ross McLeod, Ngahiwi Tomoana and Marei Apatu from Te Taiwhenua o Heretaunga, Rex Graham, Chair of Hawkes Bay Regional Council and Mike Devonshire and Michael Bate of Te Mata Park Trust.
The landscape report was commissioned by Craggy Range and prepared by Hudson Associates, then peer reviewed by Shannon Bray of Wayfinder Landscape Planning and Strategy.
