Residents of Hidden Hills, on the northern side of Mt Iron, have requested funding from council to improve the northern access to the Mt Iron walkway.

The Hidden Hills Residents Association has applied for a community grant of $4,250 to cover the costs of a plan to “enhance and beautify” the increasingly popular track accessway off Hidden Hills Drive.

The current entranceway is unkempt and unmaintained and the high rabbit population decimates any native plants growing in the area.

Speaking to the association’s submission to the council’s Long-Term Plan hearings, held in Wanaka on Tuesday (May 11), association committee member Brendon Fraher said an investment in this project would benefit the wider community.

“With the growth of the nearby Northlake and Hikuwai subdivisions, the number of walkers using this northern entrance to Mt Iron is substantially increasing,” he said.

Although exact numbers are unknown, he said, an estimated 100,000 walkers use the Mt Iron track each year. 

An increasing number of walkers from the Northlake subdivision are using the Mt Iron track access at the top of Hidden Hills Drive.

The costs would include a professionally drawn landscape plan, irrigation, rabbit protection, ground preparation and 50 native plants, estimated to be $4,250.

The planting programme on the roadside berms, from the corner of Weatherall Close to the public stile entrance to the track, as well as the ongoing plant maintenance would be “undertaken by the passionate Hidden Hills residents who take pride in this beautiful landscape”, Brendon said. 

He said Mt Iron is classed as an Outstanding Natural Feature; it’s a place of enjoyment and education and the beautification project will enhance locals and visitors' experience of the location.

He added that local pre-schoolers and other school children were already familiar with Mt Iron during their Education Outside the Classroom excursions and the proposed additional native plantings would encourage the return of more native birds and enhance their learning experience.

This is not the first beautification project the Hidden Hills’ Residents Association has tackled; it’s also planted numerous trees from the Aubrey Road entrance to Hidden Hills to the roundabout at the top of Hidden Hills Drive.

The association, which covers the 30-35 residences in Hidden Hills, was established five years ago. “We just thought it was quite a good thing from a community spirit point of view…[and] the vast majority of people [homeowners] got on board,” Brendon said. 

If the council approves the funding he expects the association will complete the beautification project within six months.

PHOTOS: Wanaka App