Mountain biking was a hot topic at a hearing on the draft Mt Iron Reserve Management Plan (RMP) held in Wānaka yesterday (Tuesday December 10).

Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) is in the process of creating an RMP for the Mt Iron Reserve, which comprises around 100 hectares of land around Mount Iron and Little Mount Iron.

Residents who spoke at the hearing were divided on the level of change they wanted to see at the local landmark, and mountain biking was the ‘line in the sand’ for some.

Bike Wānaka president Ewan Mackie said the majority of people who had made submissions on the draft RMP were supportive of mountain biking on the reserve.

He said bike trails would be “low impact, hand built [and] visually sympathetic”, and he didn’t see mountain bike trails as being “in conflict” with other priorities for the reserve.

Keen mountain biker Ben Thomson was also in support, saying Wānaka was “significantly under-served by mountain biking options”.

There was an opportunity for “technical trails” on Mt Iron which “we can’t really do anywhere else” and which would “make the most” of the reserve.

Fellow mountain biker Meg Taylor, on the other hand, echoed other submitters who said the focus of the reserve should be on walking.

“I can see people are quite divided over the extent bikers have access to the area,” Meg said. 

“I certainly think there is a need for biking opportunities for local use [but]...I don’t think that place is Mt Iron…I don’t believe the mix of steep bike tracks and walking trails is a good idea.”

She was concerned tracks on Mt Iron might become like the Outlet Track, which is “not working” as a combined track.

Upper Clutha Tracks Trust said Mt Iron has room for a range of users - but opposed shared pathways (for bikers and walkers) on the mountain. PHOTO: Wānaka App

A basin loop would be appropriate, but aside from that, QLDC should “press pause” on the idea, Meg said.

Upper Clutha Tracks Trust (UCTT) representative John Wellington said the trust believed the reserve had enough room for a very large range of users - including, walkers, recreational cyclists, commuter cyclists, mountain bikers, climbers, paragliders and more.

The trust had identified a range of locations where tracks could be established, upgraded or reinstated, some of them shared pathways (for bikers and walkers to use).

However, when asked by the panel, he said “wouldn’t want to see any shared pathways on the mountain itself”.

They would be more appropriate at the base of the reserve, he said.

Other people who spoke at the hearing touched on a range of topics, from views that the draft RMP was inconsistent (it claimed to prioritise open space but also listed private functions and commercial activities, one submitter said) to calls for a full ecological assessment and designation as a scenic reserve, community-led native replanting, and provision for hangliding and paragliding, among others.

Hidden Hills resident Andrew Bartholomew said he wanted to see less change, rather than more: “There are plenty of other places in Wānaka where those activities can take place”.

Central Otago Forest & Bird representative Anne Steven also had a ‘less is more’ mentality.

She said natural values “should have priority” over recreational activities and the reserve should be “acknowledged, respected and protected”.

In-person submitters made up just a fraction of the 400 written submissions QLDC received on its draft RMP. 

Now the hearing has adjourned, the hearing panel - comprising councillors Lyal Cocks, Barry Bruce and Wānaka Upper Clutha Community Board (WUCCB) member Chris Hadfield - will deliberate.

A final RMP will be presented to the WUCCB and full council for adoption early next year. It will provide a blueprint on how Mt Iron is used, managed and preserved into the future.