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Source: Close Up -
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It has been judged one of the most beautiful deserted beaches in the world, but now the Coromandel's idyllic New Chums beach is about to be developed.
The beach is in Wainuiototo Bay, hidden around the point from Whangapoua. It's a New Zealand classic - a horse shoe shaped bay ringed by a white sand beach and pohutukawa trees.
However, the beach belongs to a man called John Darby, who has proposed building 20 houses at the site.
Linda Cholmondeley-Smith has a family connection to the beach going back four generations and is now fighting Darby's plans. Her grandparents once owned the land, but were forced to sell it.
She described it to TV ONE's Close Up as one of the few beaches in New Zealand where you could experience nature as it was thousands of years ago.
"It's just so magnificent and just so untouched and remote and isolated. We could be 5,000 years ago right now and there's no sight of civilisation anywhere," she said.
New Chums even had a reputation overseas. Lonely Planet and National Geographic both rated it amongst the best deserted beaches in the world.
The only way to get there was by crossing a waterway at Whangapoua beach, then clambering across rocks and climbing a slippery mud track.
Cholmondeley-Smith felt the government had one last chance to step in and turn New Chums into a public reserve.
"This is an asset that's unique to New Zealand. This is our heritage, we should not be developing it. We've got plenty of places developed."
However, Darby claimed the development would be done responsibly and the whole beach front would be a public reserve.
He also said they would not have as many sites as they could have under the Resource Management Act.
Thames Coromandel mayor Philippa Bariball said if central governemnt chipped in, the council would look at buying the beach.
She said the beach's pricetag, which she estimated at about $20 million, was simply too much for the council to stump up for.
"My ratepayers, I'm sure, would love to own [the beach], but it comes at a very high price tag."
However, she said Darby had shown restraint with his plans by not building a house right near the beach, despite having resource consent for it, and protecting the kauri groves.
Coromandel resident and Green MP Catherine Delahunty said she would like see the government ask the owners to sell it back to a collaboration of people, including both central and local government.
"We need to step up and actually take on this issue and look after this beautiful piece of coast."
Two hundred and fifty people have joined the fight to save the beach. Submissions to the Thames-Coromandel District Council closed today.
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