Hunter Valley Station pastoral leaseholders Taff and Pene Cochrane have shut the gate on controversial Meads Rd running through their Lake Hawea property, ending public road access to the Department of Conservation's Kidds Bush camp site.
The couple, in a press release received yesterday, said they were ''reluctantly closing the gate'' at Neck Creek as of Tuesday.
''This decision has not been taken lightly.''
Public use of the road has been debated for many years, and has involved court action by the Queenstown Lakes District Council against Hunter Valley Station.
Mr and Mrs Cochrane have closed Meads Rd during the lambing seasons, but the road was open through the Christmas holiday period.
The couple described public discussion and the approach of lobby groups as ''emotional, destructive and personally hurtful''.
''Often the resultant lobbying has been without merit.
''The approach favoured by these interests had largely been on the basis that the road is a legal road. This is not the case. It is part of the lease.''
Mr and Mrs Cochrane considered it was the responsibility of the Crown to resolve the issue.
''Hunter Valley Station is simply protecting its rights as a lessee, having the ability to continue farming the land in a way that respects these rights and its OSH [Occupational Safety and Health New Zealand] responsibilities.
''Hunter Valley Station recognises the legitimate public interest in this matter, but the simple bottom line is that this has to be dealt with in a proper manner. This has not happened to date.''
Mr and Mrs Cochrane said they had previously been ''thrust into a court case'' rather than offered ''proper dialogue, communication, responsibility and resolution''. They said they had ''worked hard'' to secure permanent access to the Kidds Bush camp site, and it was ''never the wish'' to restrict access.
''Quite the opposite, in fact. Hunter Valley Station has offered permanent public access in return for addressing all its legitimate concerns.
''Until the Crown re establishes a proper contact in pursuit of a good outcome that addresses both the private rights and public interests fairly, access to Kidds Bush will be unavailable over Hunter Valley Station land.''
The Contact Epic bike race on April 18 would ''be accommodated'', however.
QLDC chief executive Adam Feeley said in a statement yesterday the council was disappointed at the road closure.
''In discussions as recently as two months ago, there had been an informal understanding reached that Hunter Valley Station would not permanently close Meads Rd and that any temporary closures would only be for matters such as stock movement and would be notified to [the council].''
''We had hoped that further costs to all parties, including ratepayers, could be avoided by a reasonable and pragmatic arrangement.
''In light of the reported comments from Hunter Valley Station, we will be reassessing our position on whether more formal steps will be taken to secure public access along Meads Rd,'' Mr Feeley said.
