Locked gate, Dalethorpe Road and Bell Hill Road

[monchopper]

The story so far.....

I mapped a route using my cadastral map overlayed it onto topo map and google earth, rang the Selwyn council's roading engineer and verified the route to be a legit road.

Me and a couple of mates rode up the waimak south side through to Springfield for pint and pie then set off to do the loop. Found the gates to be locked. Not just a small lock a big f@ck off barrier. Big sign saying something like this is Selwyn Plantation Board property and to ring a number to get access.
The next day I rang and enquired about access and to ask why there was a gate blocking access to a public road. I was basically told that it's not a public road and when they grant access it's certainly not to motorcycles and it wasn't open for discussion.
I did a bit of research and found the email address of the CEO of the parent company and sent him a rather terse email. He replied cc'ing in the CEO of the Selwyn Plantation Board Limited (SPBL) saying they would address my concerns.
During this time I organised a trip from Chch to Lake Clearwater, going up the Waimak, down the Dalethorpe Rd down the Selwyn river, through High Peaks station to Terrace downs and around the Glenfalloch station. They agreed to let us through (very big of them!!). It's a nice bit of country side through there!!

1 Year has passed since then and I'm back living in London. But I thought f@ck it I can battle these pr1cks from the other side of the world, so I emailed them back and got a letter back saying that they are within there rights to deny access for various reasons blah blah blah.......... which is bullshit.
I emailed the guy back explaining my position and haven't heard from him. They think I will just go away if they blank me long enough.

So it's time to take action. I'll post a gpx file of the route in the next couple of days. If someone want to organise a trip through then that would be good.
If enough people reckon the route is worth making a bit of a stink about then lets not back down, get those gates unlocked.

[sleemanj]

Hmm.

If council does not co-operate and get the gates unlocked, I wonder who is next up the chain of command, NZTA? Or perhaps a matter for the office of the ombudsman?

There must be some times when a public road can be blocked (eg for events, closing roads in hazardous weather etc), who knows what they are?

[=cJ=]

A hacksaw or grinder may be a worthwhile investment in such a case...

[Ixion]

Hmm.

If council does not co-operate and get the gates unlocked, I wonder who is next up the chain of command, NZTA? Or perhaps a matter for the office of the ombudsman?

There must be some times when a public road can be blocked (eg for events, closing roads in hazardous weather etc), who knows what they are?

Ombudsman. I posted a thread up about getting Leslie Rd near Rotorua opened when the council and the forestry corporation illegally locked it . As to the chains - nuthin says luvin like a gas axe. Portable and needs no electricty.

[dino3310]

stick a match in the lock and break it of, it wont do anything but piss them of when they need to open it with the gas set

[junkmanjoe]

my paper road approach.

i have a farm location map, has all the farmers names, and names of the farms for the whole valley .

so i look them up in the phone book, and give them a call.. talk nicely, and ask for access..
let them know who i am and what we intend to do in there as a single or a small group.
most times im let in, other times not
mostly turned away when lambing is on... which is fair enough..

theres no point telling people to go get fuked its a public rd i can use it....
it doesn't work around here..

my thoughts..

JMJ

[monchopper]

my paper road approach.

i have a farm location map, has all the farmers names, and names of the farms for the whole valley .

so i look them up in the phone book, and give them a call.. talk nicely, and ask for access..
let them know who i am and what we intend to do in there as a single or a small group.
most times im let in, other times not
mostly turned away when lambing is on... which is fair enough..

theres no point telling people to go get fuked its a public rd i can use it....
it doesn't work around here..

my thoughts..

JMJ
I suppose every situation is different and I agree with what you're saying when it comes to land owned by individuals and have spent many hours in the past researching landowners phone numbers etc for trips I've planned see This Trip (http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php/94239-Waitangi-Weekend-Adventure-Trail-Ride?highlight=rough+ridge) I had consent from around 20 farmers for a 4 day trip, much of which was on paper roads. I probably didn't have to call them but out of courtesy I did, which I think is the generally accepted approach my most reasonable bikers.

.... But DOC land and land owned by big companies are different in my view.

I suspect the Selwyn Plantation Board (or at least some of there staff) receive income from charging hunters to hunt deer on there land and see the unlocking of the gate as a risk to that revenue stream.

[thepom]

Lets organise a ride and see if we can get through or a response from some one in authority....

[bishxt]

thepom
Lets organise a ride and see if we can get through or a response from some one in authority....

Sounds like a good idea - perhaps monochopper could post or pm the contacts for the Selwyn Plantation Board and the emails/escalation of the issue can begin... hopefully with ride access resulting at the end of it :yes:

[jimichelle]

hmmm everytime i was allowed into forest land i had to have spark arresters fitted and you had better have public liability insurance to the tune of a couple of million the groups i went in with (4x4) did

[monchopper]

hmmm everytime i was allowed into forest land i had to have spark arresters fitted and you had better have public liability insurance to the tune of a couple of million the groups i went in with (4x4) did

If you were driving/riding on the forest owners land that may be the case that you need some kind of insurance.
This route is a public road and your liability is no more than driving on State highway 1 through the Herbert forest.
However spark arrestors are generally a good idea.

[monchopper]

OK the contact at the SPBL
Marcel van Leeuwen
IT/Operations Manager
Selwyn Plantation Board Ltd,
P.O.Box 48, Darfield. 7541
email Marcel@spbl.co.nz
Office 03 3188311
Web http://www.spbl.co.nz

Selwyn District Council
Contact (last time I rang) Mark Chamberlain (spelliing?)
council@selwyn.govt.nz


I've attached the GPS file of the loop from Springfield. I couldn't upload the gpx file directly so I've copy the text into a word .doc document.

Another little gem that may be worth investigating is High Peak Rd. Again the track on the ground matches up with the 'legal line'. I spoke to the farmer and he tried to scare me off by saying the road goes through a motorbike eating swamp. The google earth images don't suggest that the land is boggy but then again I'm no geography expert.
I've attached the road as well.
I think there are a number of opportunities in this area. They are within day trip distance from chch.

[monchopper]

Right guys. I'm not keen to let this drop so.....

I'm going to be back in Chch for a holiday and need to do a quick trip to get comfortable on the bike I'm going to be using for a 4 dayer the next weekend.

So if anyone is keen to do a 1/2 day trip up the south side of the Waimak to springfield pie and pint then do the loop mentioned in this thread then back down the southside.

It would be a good opportunity for some chch kb'ers to have a look at this loop as it is fully on a public road reserve and is illegally locked and hopefully take up the battle with the gate lockers.

Unfortunately it has to be a school day.
So the 2 dates I can do it are either
1st March (Tues) or
2nd March (Wed)

Loose plan to meet at the stop bank McLeans Island road around 12.30 back around 6.30 - 7.00pm

Any takers?

Here is photo taken in the area http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_gB-jyf5xugo/TShluB6fYdI/AAAAAAAAAUA/AqGO6N1yRa8/s1600/Selwyn%2BLoop.JPG

[PirateJafa]

Logically, if someone has illegally locked a public road, surely you would be within your rights to reopen it, be it with gasaxe, boltcutters or whatever?

Surely you would be doing a public service?

[monchopper]

Logically, if someone has illegally locked a public road, surely you would be within your rights to reopen it, be it with gasaxe, boltcutters or whatever?

Surely you would be doing a public service?

Yup, but this isn't just a locked gate it's a massive barrier structure with the lock cased in a large metal surround with just the key hole showing!!

[Gremlin]

I would be interested in coming... except I'll be a tourist in the area at the time.

Is the route big bike friendly, on pretty much road tyres?

[monchopper]

I would be interested in coming... except I'll be a tourist in the area at the time.

Is the route big bike friendly, on pretty much road tyres?

Not road tyre friendly I'm afraid. Have a look at the river in the photo of my previous post, this needs to be crossed several times.
Although it's a small river it can be slippery in parts (I had a nice wee lie down in it!!!) and you need enough traction to get up banks on the other side once through the river and you just wouldn't be able to do that with road tyres.

[Gremlin]

Fair enough. That week I'm there in between two rides, so figured it would be a good chance. Enjoy!

[timmehpwr]

Digging up an old thread.. but has anyone been in Dalethorpe Forest lately and/or know how to obtain access?

I am bored of riding the Waimak South side "trail park" considering over half of it has now been logged and is no more, and so this morning went in search of a forest to ride in and came across "LowMount Forest" near Glentunnell.. went in via Davies Road but found a large barrier arm at the entrance (there was a track around the side of it I could have easily used but didn't.. would rather do it properly than spoil potential access for everyone)

"Private road and property entry by permit only" Matariki Forests managed by Rayonier.

I googled them and they seem to have acquired Dalethorpe Forest from the Selwyn Plantation Board?
http://www.linz.govt.nz/overseas-investment/decisions/decision-summaries/matariki-forests

Anyway that's how I found this thread.

It's a shame there's not much quality public access riding here in Canterbury like there is up in Nelson/Marlborough.. we are forced to pay $50-$60 each ride which is daylight robbery so I'm keen to get involved to gain access to these forests if anyone else out there wants to help. If we can get some sort of permit system like they have for Hira in Nelson that would be awesome.

[monchopper]

Digging up an old thread.. but has anyone been in Dalethorpe Forest lately and/or know how to obtain access?

I am bored of riding the Waimak South side "trail park" considering over half of it has now been logged and is no more, and so this morning went in search of a forest to ride in and came across "LowMount Forest" near Glentunnell.. went in via Davies Road but found a large barrier arm at the entrance (there was a track around the side of it I could have easily used but didn't.. would rather do it properly than spoil potential access for everyone)

"Private road and property entry by permit only" Matariki Forests managed by Rayonier.

I googled them and they seem to have acquired Dalethorpe Forest from the Selwyn Plantation Board?
http://www.linz.govt.nz/overseas-investment/decisions/decision-summaries/matariki-forests

Anyway that's how I found this thread.

It's a shame there's not much quality public access riding here in Canterbury like there is up in Nelson/Marlborough.. we are forced to pay $50-$60 each ride which is daylight robbery so I'm keen to get involved to gain access to these forests if anyone else out there wants to help. If we can get some sort of permit system like they have for Hira in Nelson that would be awesome.
I had a running battle with the Selwyn Plantation Board about the barriers over Bell Hill rd and Dalethorpe Rd but I lost motivation as I live in England and couldn't be arsed with it, they just kept fobbing me off with some legal crap that my lawyer said was basically a load of bullshit. But what can you do if they refuse to take them down? A lone crusader who doesn't even live in Canterbury certainly can't.
They had a system where you could pick up the key from their Darfield office.

If you want to take up the battle and get some local support from riders then get busy.
Another really good prospect is High Peak Road that runs from High Peak station to Scotts Hill. The owner of High Peak Station reckons that there is a motorbike eating bog near High Peak Saddle (he would say given he doesn't want bikes and 4x4 crossing through his land), but on google earth you can clearly see a track so it must've been used at some point.

PS There is heaps of great public access riding in Canterbury if you look hard enough

[p.dath]

What did the Council say about the public road being blocked?

[unstuck]

It is easy enough to use the health and saftey act to scare most councils into allowing the likes of raynior or ernslaugh foresty to block roads that are on council land. I think, from what I have been told, that it is more to keep the thieving scumbags out. If you can find the forest manager, and you present yourself and your hobby well enough, you just may be given a key. I did.:Punk:

[clint640]

It is easy enough to use the health and saftey act to scare most councils into allowing the likes of raynior or ernslaugh foresty to block roads that are on council land. :

Council land, maybe, but actual public roads can really only be closed temporarily by the council under a set number of circumstances. If the council hasn't closed the road & you are 100% sure the gate is actually on the legal road line you can quite legally cut it open. Obviously asking for a key or for it to be opened first is polite & don't do any more damage than necessary. A great resource for checking out legal roads is www.wams.org.nz

Cheers
Clint

[unstuck]

Cheers Clint, great link.:niceone:

[monchopper]

Council land, maybe, but actual public roads can really only be closed temporarily by the council under a set number of circumstances. If the council hasn't closed the road & you are 100% sure the gate is actually on the legal road line you can quite legally cut it open. Obviously asking for a key or for it to be opened first is polite & don't do any more damage than necessary. A great resource for checking out legal roads is www.wams.org.nz

Cheers
Clint
This

The roading engineer for the Selwyn council confirmed to me that the road is public and follows the legal line.

[cooneyr]

I've just dragged my EXC out of the shed (first time in three months). Funds a bit tight at the moment (renovating a house does that to you) but in about a month (mid June) I'd be keen to go have a look.

Monchopper - you've got my details can you email me the details of your contacts?

timmehpwr - keep in touch on this thread if you start asking questions. I'm in the "trade" as it were so will see what I can do over the next while re access.

Cheers R

[Racing Dave]

Digging up an old thread.. but has anyone been in Dalethorpe Forest lately and/or know how to obtain access?

I am bored of riding the Waimak South side "trail park" considering over half of it has now been logged and is no more, and so this morning went in search of a forest to ride in and came across "LowMount Forest" near Glentunnell.. went in via Davies Road but found a large barrier arm at the entrance (there was a track around the side of it I could have easily used but didn't.. would rather do it properly than spoil potential access for everyone)

"Private road and property entry by permit only" Matariki Forests managed by Rayonier.

I googled them and they seem to have acquired Dalethorpe Forest from the Selwyn Plantation Board?
http://www.linz.govt.nz/overseas-investment/decisions/decision-summaries/matariki-forests

Anyway that's how I found this thread.

It's a shame there's not much quality public access riding here in Canterbury like there is up in Nelson/Marlborough.. we are forced to pay $50-$60 each ride which is daylight robbery so I'm keen to get involved to gain access to these forests if anyone else out there wants to help. If we can get some sort of permit system like they have for Hira in Nelson that would be awesome.

Several years ago, for a BMW Safari, we had access to Low Mount Forest from the (then) owners, the Selwyn Plantation Board. There's a lovely loop of (from memory) about half an hours easy riding, with one decent climb in it, as well as several no exit dead ends. Perfectly pleasant on an R1200GS or similar. I think the days of access by asking, are over.

[monchopper]

I've just dragged my EXC out of the shed (first time in three months). Funds a bit tight at the moment (renovating a house does that to you) but in about a month (mid June) I'd be keen to go have a look.

Monchopper - you've got my details can you email me the details of your contacts?

timmehpwr - keep in touch on this thread if you start asking questions. I'm in the "trade" as it were so will see what I can do over the next while re access.

Cheers R
Hey Ryan
The routes and the contacts I had at the time are on page 1 of this thread.
Let me know if you need anything else

[cynna]

theres a trailride thru dalethorpe 19th august