DRAFT DUNEDIN TOWN BELT MANAGEMENT PLAN August 2006 Community and Recreation Services Dunedin City Council Contents 1 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................... 3 1.1 VISION FOR THE TOWN BELT.................................................................................................. 4 2 MANAGEMENT PLANNING FOR RESERVES................................................................... 5 2.1 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF RESERVES MANAGEMENT PLANS ................................................. 5 2.2 PURPOSE OF A MANAGEMENT PLAN ..................................................................................... 5 2.3 MANAGEMENT PLANNING UNDER THE RESERVES ACT 1977................................................. 6 2.4 CONSULTATION PROCESSES ................................................................................................... 7 2.5 THE REVIEW OF RESERVE MANAGEMENT PLANS .................................................................. 7 2.6 CONSIDERATION OF OTHER MANAGEMENT DOCUMENTS ...................................................... 7 3 AIMS, OBJECTIVES, AND POLICIES ................................................................................ 10 3.1 INTRODUCTION/EXPLANATION OF TERMS............................................................................. 10 3.2 ADMINISTRATION................................................................................................................. 11 3.3 PROTECTION OF RESERVE VALUES....................................................................................... 12 3.4 RECREATIONAL FACILITIES.................................................................................................. 16 3.5 PEST PLANT AND ANIMAL CONTROL.................................................................................... 19 3.6 PUBLIC VEHICLE AND PEDESTRIAN ROUTES......................................................................... 20 3.7 COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT AND RESERVE MANAGEMENT PARTNERSHIPS ......................... 22 4 GENERAL INFORMATION .................................................................................................. 30 4.1 TOWN BELT HISTORY .......................................................................................................... 30 4.2 LANDSCAPE ......................................................................................................................... 33 4.6 ECOLOGICAL VALUES .......................................................................................................... 34 4.7 CULTURAL HERITAGE VALUES ............................................................................................ 38 4.8 EDUCATIONAL VALUES........................................................................................................ 38 4.5 USE OF THE TOWN BELT ...................................................................................................... 38 4.8 ISSUES............................................................................................................................... 39 5 INDIVIDUAL RESERVE SECTIONS ................................................................................... 44 5.1 ARTHUR STREET CEMETERY ................................................................................................ 44 5.2 BELLEKNOWES............................................................................................................... 45 5.3 COSY DELL....................................................................................................................... 46 5.4 GARDENS GROUND........................................................................................................ 47 5.5 JUBILEE PARK ................................................................................................................. 49 5.6 LITTLEBOURNE GROUND............................................................................................. 51 5.7 MOANA POOL.................................................................................................................. 52 5.8 MONTECILLO GROUND................................................................................................. 53 5.9 MORNINGTON PARK...................................................................................................... 55 5.10 NORTHERN CEMETERY ............................................................................................ 57 5.11 OPOHO PARK ............................................................................................................... 59 5.12 PROSPECT PARK ......................................................................................................... 60 5.13 ROBERTS PARK........................................................................................................... 62 5.14 ROBIN HOOD PARK.................................................................................................... 63 5.15 SOUTHERN CEMETERY ..................................................................................................... 65 5.16 THE OVAL..................................................................................................................... 66 5.17 UNITY PARK ................................................................................................................ 69 5.18 WOODHAUGH GARDENS (INCLUDING WOODHAUGH SCENIC RESERVE) ........ 70 6 APPENDIX................................................................................................................................ 74 6.1 RESERVE STATUS LIST......................................................................................................... 74 6.2 LIST OF EXISTING LEASES/LICENCE/EASEMENTS ON THE RESERVE ...................................... 77 6.3 PUBLIC VEHICLE ROUTES (NON LEGAL ROADS) ON THE TOWN BELT .................................... 79 7 BIBLIOGRAPHY..................................................................................................................... 80 7.1 PUBLICATIONS ..................................................................................................................... 80 7.2 GOVERNMENT ACTS AND POLICIES...................................................................................... 80 1 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This plan was prepared by the Dunedin City Council, Community and Recreation Services. Review of this plan was undertaken by Jacinda Baker, Reserves Planner, with the input of a number of staff who contributed to its preparation. Wildland Consultants Ltd provided the Ecological Assessment Report that will assist in the management of flora and fauna on the reserves. Mr Hardwicke Knight supplied the historical information for the first Town Belt Management Plan. This review has used the same information. 2 1 INTRODUCTION Reserves have a major role in contributing to the maintenance and enhancement of amenity and recreation values in the City by providing attractive open spaces and facilities for the enjoyment of active and passive recreational activities by both residents and visitors. Reserves also provide areas for the preservation and enhancement of ecological and landscape values. The purpose of the Town Belt Management Plan is to provide a policy framework for the use, enjoyment, maintenance, protection, and appropriate development of the reserves in the Town Belt. The Dunedin Town Belt is an important asset to the City and fulfils an important amenity role within Dunedin: it is a significant landscape feature; provides areas for recreation; and is an important ecological resource. As a high profile public reserve, its management and maintenance is important to the Dunedin community (especially for those who are neighbours of, or regularly use, the reserve). Council has adopted policies for the management of the Town Belt with the realisation of its natural values and the community interest in its preservation. Reserve values are those things that are important and desirable about reserves. The main values for the Town Belt are recreation, landscape, amenity, ecological, cultural heritage, and educational values. This management plan applies to all Council reserves considered as part of the Town Belt. It has been prepared in accordance with the procedures outlined in Section 41 of the Reserves Act 1977. Formation of the Town Belt Management Plan The first reserve management plan for the Town Belt was prepared in 1982, however, it was not approved until 1990. This plan was reviewed in 1998. The current plan is a comprehensive review of the 1998 plan. The plan provides a framework, obtained through research and public consultation, that will guide management decisions over the next ten years. Changing circumstances are accounted for by ongoing review and regular, comprehensive reconsideration at ten-yearly intervals. Although the plan provides an overall direction for management, day-to-day management is controlled via a programme of works which covers a much shorter time span and allows for more immediate contingencies. These day-to-day works are specified in the management contracts prepared by the Dunedin City Council. Description of Reserves The Town Belt is located in the central urban area of Dunedin. It stretches across several suburbs including Mornington, Roslyn, Maori Hill, Woodhaugh and Opoho. Access to the reserve is possible at many points along its approximately 4.7 kilometre length. For organised sporting