The walking and mountain bike track on the eastern face of the peak, on land adjacent to Craggy Range Winery, was deemed to have "no more than minor" environmental effects by Hastings District Council.

A controversial track cut into the face of Te Mata Peak in Hawke's Bay will be removed by the company that built it, Craggy Range Winery, and the local iwi say it's "an early Christmas present".

"Following discussions with Mana Whenua and other concerned groups this week, Craggy Range Winery has decided the best resolution to the concerns surrounding its new walking track on Te Mata Peak's eastern slopes is to remove the track, restore the land and return it to the previous owner," the company said in a statement on Saturday.

Ngahiwi Tomoana, the leader of Ngāti Kahungunu, which blessed Craggy Range Winery when it opened in 2003, said the winery's decision to backtrack on the walkway was "surprisingly, stunningly good".

STUFF Ngāti Kahungunu chairman Ngahiwi Tomoana was angry about the track cut on Te Mata Peak.

"They've elevated their mana, the mana of their people, the mana of the Hawke's Bay, and the mana of the landscape," he said.

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* Council to review decision that saw Te Mata Peak 'butchered'

* 'It looks like Te Mata Peak has had open heart surgery'

Tomoana was in Darwin, Australia, when he heard the news on Saturday. "Someone called to say 'congratulations,' and I thought it was a hoax."

SUPPLIED The proposed route of the cycling/walking track on the eastern face of Te Mata Peak

He had spoken with the winery owners and he believed they decided that retaining the relationship with the people and the land took priority over the walkway.

"I think it hurt them as well that it went through without any reference by the council to the iwi - they believed they were doing everything right," he said. "They hadn't realised the depths of spiritual, emotional, and physical connection of all of Hawke's Bay with that landscape."

Environmental Defence Society (EDS) chief executive Gary Taylor said the decision to restore the site to its original condition was the right move.

DELWYN DICKEY/STUFF Environmental Defence Society chief executive Gary Taylor says Craggy Range Winery did the "right thing".

EDS had considered launching a judicial review on the matter, but Taylor said on Saturday it was no longer necessary. "We congratulate Craggy Range on doing the right thing."

Taylor said the winery probably felt "embarrassed - in part from being misled by the council, but also because they did not think through all the implications and the wider public interest".

He said the Hastings District Council needed to "learn from this" and review its consenting processes.

"And the Government, in considering further reforms in the Resource Management Act next year, needs to have a close look at the notification rules and fix them," he said.

The new walking and mountain bike track on the eastern face of the peak, on land adjacent to Craggy Range Winery, was deemed to have "no more than minor" environmental effects by Hastings District Council, which issued resource consent in October.

The application was not notified, and iwi and councillors were not informed of it.

The track prompted outrage for scarring the prominent landmark, but also support for the recreational opportunities it would provide.

On Monday, Tomoana said the iwi felt betrayed and would be seeking the return of a commemorative plaque.

He was furious about the track, labelling it "an act of idiocy".

"We opened that place with Sir Edmund Hillary. We did the morning blessing. We gave our mana to that place and now it's shattered," he said.

Craggy Range chief executive Mike Wilding said on Saturday the company had worked hard over the past week to seek and understand the different perspectives in the community.

"We never intended to alienate or divide any part of our community by developing the public track and we believe it is in the best interests of the broader community that a swift resolution occurs."

Hope they succeed. Something doesn’t feel right about how @CraggyRange and #HastingsDistrictCouncil went about things here. Seems @CraggyRange using a NZ landmark to line its pockets. #FeelsShifty #Stayinyourlane https://t.co/4sYCURiDzM — Chris Mirams (@miramsc) December 19, 2017

Tomoana was surprised that the council approved the consent application without it being publicly notified, and that the council's Māori Committee had not been notified.

"It still burns deep within the fact that my great-great grandmother was taken prisoner almost 200 years ago and that she cut herself deep to remind us of our kaitiaki responsibilities to protect our land. So it cuts deep that today this landscape vandalism is on my watch in our time," he said.

When Stuff broke the story earlier this month, a local resident, who asked not to named, said the "giant zigzag gash" made it look like the landscape had "had open heart surgery".

"How did something so jarring get consent? Te Mata Peak is not only sacred, it is the top tourist attraction in Hawke's Bay and it's been quite literally butchered," she said.

"It's wonderful to have walking tracks in the great outdoors, but they need to be sympathetic to the environment."

In early December, Wilding had said the track was part of a shared vision with Hawke's Bay Regional Council and the Te Mata Peak Trust. But it soon transpired the council had not consulted with the local iwi, he said.

"When this furore erupted we were surprised to find out that council hadn't consulted with Mana Whenua in the consent application process," Wilding said.

"It is also disappointing and frustrating that we find ourselves the first casualty of an updated District Plan that does not appear to align with community sentiment."

Wilding said the company had spent more than $300,000 on the track.

PETITION TO RETAIN TRACK

Meanwhile, a petition to keep the track as it is has gained almost 4,000 signatures in two days.

Rebecca McNeur, from Havelock North, started the Change.Org petition 'Save the Craggy Range Walking Track'.

The petition states that it is "a push-back against those who have signed a petition to remove the track and to stand up for what is right."

"The new Craggy Range track and the Peabody family [who own Craggy Range] have been vilified which they don't deserve and to remove the track will create a bigger scar," the petition states.

McNeur says that common sense should prevail and that means keeping the track - now that it has been created - and being grateful for the community space that has been provided by the private land owners.

A previous Change.Org petition against the track; 'Remove the Craggy Range Track on Te Mata Peak' was started by another Havelock North woman (Anna Archibald) a week ago and gained more than 4,000 signatures.

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