Private Land - Public Walkway

[Brent George]

Legally speaking, the landowners of the property in question appear to be wholly within their rights to utilise their land and erect a retaining wall/fence within their property - assuming they can continue to do so within the resource consents controls imposed by Council.
Stuff - 11-Oct-2018

This has only become "news' because it has affected a number locals who have - until now - been enjoying the coastal walkway route without previous impediment.

#popularaucklandcoastalwalkway #iconicwalk #multimilliondollarhome #withinboundary #unofficialwalkway #privateproperty #councilshould #northshore

[Brent George]

Coastal walkway closed after clash between council and property owners
Stuff - Auckland: 4-Oct-2023

North Shore local Charlene Laing​ has been scrambling past rock pools on the Takapuna-Milford walkway since she was 18-years-old.

When she had children, Laing brought them with her – the whole family would wander along the coastline.

On Monday, Laing rounded a corner to see a fence blocking her way: “I was devastated.”

Part of the Takapuna-Milford walkway has been closed to the public after a heritage dispute between private property owners and Auckland Council reached a deadlock.

[Brent George]

Do you have the right to pass through someone's land?
Stuff - Auckland: 5-Oct-2023

The issue raises the question: Do Kiwis have a right to cross someone else’s land?

Lawyer Michael Hemphill said under New Zealand law, private property rights “trump everything else”.