Government to amend laws on marginal strips

Press, 30 December 1988, Page 5

Government to amend laws on marginal strips

By

OLIVER RIDDELL

in Wellington The Government will introduce legislation next year to amend the Conservation and State-Owned Enterprises Acts to improve the administration of marginal strips. It will provide for the establishment of marginal strips along the sea coast, around lakes that cover more than Bha, and along streams and rivers with an average width greater than three metres, when any Crown land is disposed of or transferred to

a State-owned enterprise. Under section 58 of the Land Act, 1948, a strip not less than 20 metres wide is reserved when Crown land is disposed of or sold to any person. The Minister of Conservation, Ms Clark, said the Crown would retain ownership of marginal strips for reasons of public access, recreation and to protect conservation values. The marginal strips would, however, be included on the title of the adjoining landowner as an

endorsement or reservation to the Crown. Similar reservations were made on title documents over Crown ownership of minerals, she said. All existing section 58 strips would be declared to be “held for conservation purposes.” At present, Ms Clark said, section 58 strips remained as surveyed. When a river or stream changed course the strips lost their meaning. This new regime would ensure that in future marginal strips would shift with the river or stream

and would not be surveyed off.

The Crown would retain the. “ad medium filium rights” of ownership of the adjacent river and lake beds, she said.

The objectives and principles for management of marginal strips would provide for a balance between the conservation of their natural and historic resources and those of the adjacent water and public access and the rights of title-holders to use the strips as part of their adjoining land.