Coastal dispute cottage: Walkway could stay blocked as owners switch tactics

A seaside cottage at the centre of a coastal walk dispute in Auckland has passed its eight-week tender period with no sale.

While there were hopes a sale of Firth Cottage, at 9 Kitchener Road, would result in the removal of a fence blocking public access to the walkway, the indication now is the family selling the cottage will consider selling to someone who may keep the walkway blocked.

In May, agent Andrew Dorreen, from Precision, told OneRoof his objective was to find a suitable buyer who would reinstate the walkway but now said the family was looking at broadening the buyer pool.

The cottage, which is on 1072sqm of prime waterfront land, has a Category A heritage protection status under the council’s unitary plan, which prevents it from being removed or the site redeveloped, though buyers can renovate the interior.

Dorreen said there had been an “enormous” amount of interest from concerned locals during the tender period, and also genuine interest from some who wanted to buy the home and donate the walkway in exchange for removal of the heritage listing.

But for people interested in buying for the sole reason of opening the walkway, embarking on a process of trying to remove the heritage order was not an easy route and had no guaranteed outcome.

“Essentially, we are changing the focus to say if somebody wants to come along and renovate the cottage and fence the boundary there’s going to be a point where the family is going to look at that.”

The fence that went up in September last year, blocking access to the walkway through the property. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Dorreen said some people had expressed interest in rebuilding a public bridge that washed away in 2011 in exchange for removal of the heritage listing and said while challenging, removing the listing could still be a possibility.

“The owner could apply for a plan change and argue the validity of the heritage listing.

“It would be notifiable but based on locals’ huge vested interest in keeping the walkway open, it is a feasible option to explore.

“We had one very generous potential buyer who expressed an interest in securing the home and donating it back or ‘gifting’ it to council - unfortunately, in approaching council, this process was not collaborated on or made simple or straightforward at this stage.

“Whilst restoring public access to this iconic gem of the shore as the families hope, the reality is it could likely go to a private owner seeking the privacy of no walkway.

“The boundary of the property goes to the mean high tide which is unique to this property giving the new owner unobstructed water views and access that is one-of-a-kind.”

The cottage has a heritage overlay had been described by the vendor's lawyer as "the last of the old dunga baches along the coast". Photo / Supplied

Dorreen was reluctant to divulge details about interested buyers but said the property was very much on the market and negotiations were ongoing.

A genuine buyer was being sought and all options would be considered, he said.

In May, Taryn Crewe, Auckland Council’s general manager of parks and community facilities, told OneRoof the walkway was not so much a public walkway as a coastal walkway.

It was an informal route, which crossed a mix of private land, council reserve parcels, a legal road and Department of Conservation-managed coastal foreshore.

“The private land access has always been at the discretion of the landowners.”

She described the bridge which washed away as a 1980s-era raised platform destroyed by a storm, which had been built by the former North Shore City Council on the land of former owner, the late Paul Firth.

The New Zealand Herald reported last year the current owners had wanted to hand over a slice of the land to Auckland Council to use as a walkway on the condition the council removed a 2013 heritage overlay placed on the cottage.

But Crewe said the council could not remove a heritage scheduling at the request of a landowner.

“The process requires heritage assessments, public consultation, and a decision by independent commissioners.

“It is not a decision that elected members can make. The owners have always been able to initiate this process themselves and have been repeatedly advised on the steps involved in this process.”

While Dorreen previously told OneRoof negotiations between the council and the family had been going on since 2018 and that “extremely favorable” terms offered by the family to buy the property had been rejected late last year, Crew said the council never intended to acquire the entire property.

“The negotiations were initiated in 2012 and have continued intermittently to secure public access via an easement of a new walkway only.

“The terms proposed in 2018 were for the council to acquire the entire property for a purpose that the council did not require.”

- 9 Kitchener Road, in Takapuna, Auckland, is for sale by way of price negotiation