Summit Road Society Reserves

The Summit Roads Society currently owns three reserves on the Christchurch Port Hills – Ohinetahi Bush Reserve, Omahu Bush & Gibraltar Rock, and Linda Woods Reserve (formally known as Tussock Hill).

The Summit Road Society-owned reserves are privately owned reserves for the public to enjoy. The Society reserves the right to temporarily close all or part of any of our reserves for safety and maintenance reasons.

While the public are encouraged to visit our reserves, they are not permitted to alter them in any way. Specifically the public are not permitted to plant trees, create or alter tracks, prune or otherwise alter trees,  undertake weed or predator control or make any other changes to the reserve, except with the specific permission of the Board or relevant work party leader. All work undertaken on the reserves is carefully planned and well meaning actions can have unintended consequences.

The use of Society reserves for organised group events must be approved by the Board to ensure that safety and access issues are managed appropriately. Please contact the manager on manager@summitroadsociety.org.nz for further details.

If you are keen to help with our reserves, please get in touch about joining one of our work parties or volunteering at one of our organised planting/weeding days.

‘Watchdog’ for the Port Hills

From when it was formed in 1948, the Summit Road Society has adopted a ‘watchdog’ role for development proposals and other initiatives or policies that affect the Port Hills. There are two areas that fall under the general heading of ‘resource management’.

• From time to time, Christchurch City Council, Environment Canterbury and the Department of Conservation invite submissions on policy documents or proposed strategies. The Society ensures that its voice is heard, and where appropriate appears at submissions hearings. Examples are the Port Hills Recreation Strategy, Grazing Management of CCC Reserves on the Port Hills and the City Council’s Biodiversity Strategy.

• Development proposals under the Resource Management Act are also scrutinised by the Society, and if we feel that the adverse effects of a resource consent application are sufficiently serious, we are prepared to voice our objections formally in the Environment Court. Examples are our opposition to the construction of the Gondola, where the Society and others failed to prevent it going ahead, our successful opposition to residential development of Montgomery Spur, now owned by the City Council and protected as open space for future generations, and on a smaller scale, our opposition, along with a number of local residents to the creation of a function venue in upper Governors Bay. The Society was also involved in the hearings on the Rural Variation to the Banks Peninsula District Plan.

If you have any concerns about development proposals, please feel free to contact us:

manager@summitroadsociety.org.nz or telephone 027 389 0030.