{"id":545734,"date":"2026-07-27T05:58:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T05:58:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/545734\/"},"modified":"2026-07-27T05:58:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T05:58:11","slug":"plan-to-ban-vehicles-from-4wd-beach-hotspot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/545734\/","title":{"rendered":"Plan to ban vehicles from 4WD beach hotspot"},"content":{"rendered":"

Four-wheel drives could be banned from a Whang\u0101rei district beach at the centre of long-running user conflict under sweeping new council rules.<\/p>\n

By Susan Botting for Local Democracy Reporting<\/p>\n

The proposed ban, which would triple the number of vehicle exclusion zones along the Whang\u0101rei district’s coastline, has drawn divided views from the community.<\/p>\n

Whang\u0101rei District Council is proposing a vehicle ban at Bream Bay\u2019s Uretiti South, from the Tip Rd beach access southwards to the Waip\u016b River mouth wildlife refuge where species including one of the world\u2019s rarest birds \u2013 the critically endangered fairy tern of which fewer than 40 remain \u2013 roost and nest.<\/p>\n

The roughly five kilometre stretch of Whang\u0101rei\u2019s last wilderness coastline has become a focal point for conflict between an increasing number of beachgoers, conservationists and growing number of four-wheel drives.<\/p>\n

WDC bylaws strategic planner Will McNabb said one of the almost a dozen crashes attended by police on Whang\u0101rei district beaches in the five years to 2025 included a fatal motorcycle crash at \u014cakura. Twenty people were involved in the crashes.<\/p>\n

McNabb said the proposed new bylaw rules sought to balance a range of community interests.<\/p>\n

\"<\/p>\n

Vehicle access from the beach to these dunes behind Uretiti South where camping is prohibited, will be stopped under the Whang\u0101rei District Council’s proposed new bylaw. (Source: Local Democracy Reporting)<\/p>\n

“These included protecting the safety of beachgoers and the coastal environment while recognising vehicle beach access remained an important and valued activity for many people.”<\/p>\n

The council is also proposing new vehicle exclusion zones at Bland Bay, \u014cakura, Woolleys Bay, Matap\u014duri and Whangaumu\/Wellington’s Bay as debate intensifies over beach access and safety. <\/p>\n

Most of the these would still allow conditional access for boat launching and retrieval.<\/p>\n

Vehicles displaying valid mobility parking permits and powered mobility devices would be exempt.<\/p>\n

McNabb said vehicle access would be restricted in locations where it conflicted with the safety of other beach users, including parts of Bland Bay, \u014cakura, Woolleys Bay, Matap\u014duri and Whangaumu\/Wellington’s Bay.<\/p>\n

It would also be protected to help protect areas with significant ecological values including Uretiti South, Woolleys Bay and Matap\u014duri.<\/p>\n

Heightened public interest and sharply divided views<\/p>\n

McNabb said community interest in the 2026 bylaw review had far exceeded that seen during its previous 2016 review.<\/p>\n

More than 1200 pieces of feedback were received over summer to help shape the new bylaw rules.<\/p>\n

These showed the growing impact of vehicles on Whang\u0101rei district beaches and highlighted heightened public interest and sharply divided views.<\/p>\n

McNabb said many submitters raised concerns about safety and the impacts of vehicles on coastal habitats, wildlife and dune ecosystems. Others strongly supported ongoing beach access for fishing, boating, recreation and access to remote coastal areas.<\/p>\n

He said three-quarters of submitters who mentioned Uretiti or Ruak\u0101k\u0101, drove or wanted to be able to drive on those beaches.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A sign at the Tip Road entrance to Uretiti south beach outlines existing rules around vehicle use. (Source: Local Democracy Reporting)<\/p>\n

\u201cIn contrast almost two thirds of submitters wanted to see some form of vehicle restriction in place on the rest of Whang\u0101rei district beaches.\u201d<\/p>\n

One Waipu submitter who moved to the village from Auckland, specifically to be close to beach walking at Uretiti, said that was no longer happening due to being too scared of the number of vehicles on the beach.<\/p>\n

Another submitter said wahi tapu at Bland Bay were being damaged by vehicles.<\/p>\n

McNabb said vehicle use on district beaches had increased since the last bylaw review, alongside growth in four-wheel-drive ownership, population growth and visitor numbers.<\/p>\n

Situation has become ‘out of control’<\/p>\n

Formal public consultation on the proposed bylaw opens on August 5 and closes on September 7. A hearing is scheduled for September 21, with the new rules expected to be in place by November.<\/p>\n

The proposed Uretiti South ban has been welcomed by Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society Northern branch chairperson Bruce Bird.<\/p>\n

He said the situation had become \u201cout of control\u201d and it was surprising nobody had been seriously hurt or injured.<\/p>\n

However, Whang\u0101rei 4WD Drive Club president Adam Karl said his club opposed the proposed Uretiti South ban.<\/p>\n

He said better enforcement of existing rules would address many perceived concerns without the need for additional vehicle bans.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Tip Road vehicle entrance to Uretiti South beach. (Source: Local Democracy Reporting)<\/p>\n

Karl said a beach-access permit system, like that used at Muriwai, would be a better option for Uretiti South than a complete vehicle ban.<\/p>\n

He said driving along the beach with family to go fishing in an isolated location was part of the Kiwi way of life.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is sad to see access to yet another part of New Zealand’s wild places at risk of being shut down,\u201d Karl said.<\/p>\n

Whang\u0101rei\u2019s Damon Gilberd said most vehicle users at Uretiti South were responsible people in their 30s to 50s, rather than young hoons going \u201crip, shit and bust\u201d.<\/p>\n

Bream Bay Coastal Care Trust member David Lourie said the proposed ban was \u201ca stepping stone in the right direction\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"Waipu<\/p>\n

Waipu conservationist David Lourie says the proposed vehicle ban for Uretiti South beach is stepping stone in the right direction (Photo Susan botting Local Democracy Reporter Northland. (Source: Local Democracy Reporting)<\/p>\n

He said it would reduce the threat to three fairy terns he had seen at the wildlife refuge this week.<\/p>\n

But Lourie said that while there had been a slight reduction in people driving into the already protected refuge, southern Uretiti vehicle access rules were often ignored, and that wouldn\u2019t change significantly unless enforcement improved.<\/p>\n

Fifty 4WD\u2019s a day could be driving along the Uretiti South beach, he said.<\/p>\n

Lourie said the WDC vehicle ban would add another layer of protection for the dunes behind the beach by removing the beach as an access option.<\/p>\n

Off-roaders constantly drove through this area, destroying vegetation and dunes, he said. <\/p>\n

More than 100 four-wheel drives camped in the dunes over long weekends, sometimes for days at a time.<\/p>\n

– LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Four-wheel drives could be banned from a Whang\u0101rei district beach at the centre of long-running user conflict under…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":545735,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[111,43,139,1067,69],"class_list":["post-545734","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-northland","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/545734","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=545734"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/545734\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/545735"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=545734"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=545734"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=545734"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}