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Reserves Act 1977

Classification and management of reserves - Classification and purpose of reserves

17: Recreation reserves

You could also call this:

"Public parks and outdoor spaces for fun and nature"

Illustration for Reserves Act 1977

When you visit a recreation reserve, you can use it for fun activities like sports and walking. The reserve is meant to be a nice place for you to enjoy the outdoors and for the environment to be protected. You can think of it like a big park where you can go to have fun and be in nature.

You are allowed to enter and use the reserve, but you have to follow some rules. These rules are made by the people in charge of the reserve, and they can be found in sections like sections 53 and 54. The rules help keep you and the reserve safe.

If there are special features like old buildings, plants, or animals in the reserve, they will be protected. This means that the people in charge will make sure these features are not harmed, while still letting you use the reserve. They have to follow other laws too, like the Wildlife Act 1953 and the Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Act 2014, when making decisions about these features.

The people in charge also want to keep the reserve a nice place to visit. They will try to conserve the things that make the reserve pleasant and fun to use. They will also try to protect the soil, water, and trees in the reserve, as long as it does not stop you from using it for fun activities.

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This page was last updated on

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM444605.

Topics:
Environment and resources > ConservationEnvironment and resources > Town planningRecreation and sport > Parks and outdoor spaces
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Part 3Classification and management of reserves
Classification and purpose of reserves

17Recreation reserves

  1. It is hereby declared that the appropriate provisions of this Act shall have effect, in relation to reserves classified as recreation reserves, for the purpose of providing areas for the recreation and sporting activities and the physical welfare and enjoyment of the public, and for the protection of the natural environment and beauty of the countryside, with emphasis on the retention of open spaces and on outdoor recreational activities, including recreational tracks in the countryside.

  2. It is hereby further declared that, having regard to the general purposes specified in subsection (1), every recreation reserve shall be so administered under the appropriate provisions of this Act that—

  3. the public shall have freedom of entry and access to the reserve, subject to the specific powers conferred on the administering body by sections 53 and 54, to any bylaws under this Act applying to the reserve, and to such conditions and restrictions as the administering body considers to be necessary for the protection and general well-being of the reserve and for the protection and control of the public using it:
    1. where scenic, historic, archaeological, biological, geological, or other scientific features or indigenous flora or fauna or wildlife are present on the reserve, those features or that flora or fauna or wildlife shall be managed and protected to the extent compatible with the principal or primary purpose of the reserve:provided that nothing in this subsection shall authorise the doing of anything with respect to fauna that would contravene any provision of the Wildlife Act 1953 or any regulations or Proclamation or notification under that Act, or the doing of anything with respect to archaeological features in any reserve that would contravene any provision of the Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Act 2014:
      1. those qualities of the reserve which contribute to the pleasantness, harmony, and cohesion of the natural environment and to the better use and enjoyment of the reserve shall be conserved:
        1. to the extent compatible with the principal or primary purpose of the reserve, its value as a soil, water, and forest conservation area shall be maintained.

          Notes
          • Section 17(2)(b) proviso: amended, on , by section 107 of the Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Act 2014 (2014 No 26).