Plain language law

New Zealand law explained for everyone

Public Works Act 1981

Legalisation, stopping, and exchanging of roads

118: Application of other Acts to stopped roads

You could also call this:

“What happens to closed roads near water?”

When a road near the sea, a river, or a lake is closed, different rules apply depending on who owned the road before:

If the closed road was owned by a local council, it might become an esplanade reserve. An esplanade reserve is a strip of land next to the water that people can use.

If the closed road was owned by the government, it might become a marginal strip. A marginal strip is also a piece of land next to the water that helps protect the environment.

These rules make sure that even when roads are closed, people can still access and enjoy areas near water, and the environment is protected.

In this law, ‘lake’ and ‘river’ mean the same thing as they do in another law called the Resource Management Act 1991.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM47327.

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117: Dealing with stopped roads, or

"Rules for dealing with roads that are no longer used"

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Part 8 Legalisation, stopping, and exchanging of roads

118Application of other Acts to stopped roads

  1. Notwithstanding section 117, where any road or any portion of a road along the mark of mean high-water springs of the sea, or along the bank of any river, or the margin of any lake (as the case may be) is stopped under section 116—

  2. section 345(3) of the Local Government Act 1974 (relating to esplanade reserves) shall apply to the land comprising the road or portion of the road so stopped if that land was formerly a road vested in a local authority (including a State highway vested in a local authority):
    1. Part 4A of the Conservation Act 1987 (relating to marginal strips) shall apply to the land comprising the road or portion of the road so stopped if that land was formerly a Government road or a State highway or other road vested in the Crown.

      1. For the purpose of subsection (1), lake and river have the same meaning as in section 2(1) of the Resource Management Act 1991.

      Notes
      • Section 118: substituted, on , by section 362 of the Resource Management Act 1991 (1991 No 69).
      • Section 118(2): amended, on , by section 6 of the Resource Management (Natural and Built Environment and Spatial Planning Repeal and Interim Fast-track Consenting) Act 2023 (2023 No 68).