10 March, 2025

Fix proposed for damage to ancient lava

A remedial plan to repair damage to ancient lava flows caused by concreting on the coast between Milford and Takapuna has been submitted to Auckland Council by the owners of the property where the work occurred.
Auckland Council had served the owners with an abatement notice requiring remediation.
A plan for the works had been “provided within the timeframe required by the abatement notice”, a council spokesperson said. The plan was being assessed by council experts and would not be made public until the assessment was completed.
Asked by the Observer if the property owners faced prosecution, the spokesman said council could not comment as the investigation was ongoing.
The flows are part of the Takapuna Reef Fossil Forest, dating back hundreds of centuries. It has been described as “one of the best examples of lava-preserved forest in the world”.
Around 60 metres of concreting has been done at the seaward edge of 19 O’Neills Ave, Takapuna, beside the Takapuna-Milford coastal walkway.
Last November, the owner of 19 O’Neills Ave told the Observer through an interpreter that he was finding a firm to remove the concrete and would send a plan to council as soon as possible.
The concreting had begun a couple of years ago to stabilise a landslip which had created a hole.
The work, which aimed to protect coastal walkers, was an attempt to do the “right thing, but was the wrong method”, the translator said.

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