At the end of the Whangaparaoa Peninsula you will find a treasure – Shakespear Open Sanctuary. A few years ago, I was involved in obtaining the resource consent for the predator fence surrounding the park, so was interested to learn how the Sanctuary’s doing.
The 500-hectare Sanctuary is located at the very end of Whangaparaoa Peninsula, and is the closest land area to Tititiri Matangi Island. The 500 hectares is a mixture of natural features such as bush and wetland areas, farmland, tracks and NZ Defence Force land. It was created by constructing a 1.7km long predator fence from Army Bay to Okoromai Bay which includes an automatic gate for vehicle access and three smaller gates allowing pedestrians though. The fence, built in 2010, was jointly funded by volunteer- run Shakespear Open Sanctuary Society Incorporated (“SOSSI”) and the local Council.
Following pest eradication in 2011, replanting continued and native species have been on the steady incline. There is an on- site nursery, with an aim of raising 10,000 seedlings annually. The overall aim of this is to not only improve and extend habitat within the Sanctuary, but also to provide a habitat linkage to Tititiri Matangi Island. The Sanctuary is important as it includes a variety of different habitat types, including wetlands, bush and coastal environments. This means it can be home to a wide variety of native species.
Copper Skink
All the work undertaken has meant that rare birds such as the Little Spotted Kiwi and North Island Robins have been translocated onto the site. It’s also expected that birds from Tititiri Matangi Island will fly to and from the Sanctuary, and there is evidence that bellbirds and karariki are already doing this.
While the resource consent process is often associated with new urban development, there are also a lot of other activities that trigger the need for resource consent and have a very different purpose to creating more residential sites or dwellings. The team at Planning Plus have the skills and experience to assist with these more unusual projects as well.
It’s great to see the Sanctuary doing so well, and all the hard-working volunteers should be heartily congratulated!
References:
https://www.naturespace.org.nz/groups/shakespear-open-sanctuary-society
https://predatorfreenz.org/shakespear-volunteers-welcome-new-birds-park/
Hannah Thomson is Director of Planning Plus and has over 17 years of resource management experience working in both local government and the private sector. Hannah has a wide range of experience including commercial, rural, residential and coastal development and subdivision on small to large scales and appearances at both Council and Environment Court as an expert witness for mediation and hearings. Hannah has assisted Councils with policy development and has also assisted private individuals with submissions to Council.
Disclaimer As with all our blogs, the information detailed here is general in nature and meant as a preliminary guide only. This should not be substituted for your own investigations or use of your own professional’s. Planning Plus is not liable for any errors or omissions.
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