A controversial walking track built up the eastern side Te Mata Peak could be visible for up to five years after it is filled in.
The controversial walking track up the Eastern side of Te Mata Peak. Photo: RNZ / Anusha Bradley
Hastings District Council is applying for a resource consent from itself to fill in the zig-zagging track in an attempt to return the landscape to its original state.
The track was built by Craggy Range Winery in December 2017 and has been at the centre of a furore ever since, after the council granted resource consent without consulting iwi or the public.
The council has this week applied for a new consent to remediate the track and requested it be publicly notified and heard by independent commissioners.
A landscape report accompanying the application said an excavator and a helicopter would be used move the 140 cubic metres of soil needed to fill in the track.
Although the work would only take a month, the track could remain visible for years.
"There will be a period of time (up to five years) where the track alignment will remain visible," the report said.
"However, following integration, the alignment will weather and eventually visually merge with its surrounding landform and landcover.
"The track and its alignment create a striking scar in the landscape that contrasts and interrupts the natural patterns of the landform.
"The proposed remediation seeks to lessen these effects and reintegrate the affected area into the natural landscape."
A date for the public notification of the application had yet to be set.
