Wairarapa embraces Commission's work

Recreation and landholder representatives and district council councillors from across the Wairarapa met with the New Zealand Walking Access Commission in Masterton on Monday to discuss public access topics in the region.

Commission Chief Executive Mark Neeson said the forum was a chance for groups interested in public access to hear about the Commission's work and to share their views and questions on access.

Major topics raised by attendees included management of unformed legal roads, the Commission's role in dispute resolution and the importance of information identifying where public access is possible.

The next stage of development for the Commission's Walking Access Mapping system was also discussed, with some attendees expressing an interest in displaying outdoor information from their organisation as new information layers on the online mapping system.

“It was particularly heartening to hear that most, if not all, of those at the forum valued the Walking Access Mapping System and the Commission's broader role in enhancing public access,â€