Sandspit Holiday Park: why the Rodney Local Board won't grant a new lease

Aerial view of Sandspit and the Matakana River estuary, the setting of the long-running Sandspit Holiday Park now facing an uncertain future after the non-renewal of its front lease. Image: aerial photo rendered in an oil-painting style.

For nearly ninety years families have returned to the same sites on this water. The decision not to renew the front lease has put that continuity in doubt.

On 16 September 2026 the Rodney Local Board decided not to grant a new lease for the council reserve land used by Sandspit Holiday Park (resolution RD/2026/224). Council officers are planning to end the month-to-month occupation and assess other public uses. A Change.org petition asking for reconsideration passed 5,000 signatures by 19 October 2026.

What did the Rodney Local Board decide?

The board considered a confidential report, Sandspit Holiday Park, Sandspit Reserve – Future lease arrangements and reserve assessment, at its business meeting on 16 September 2026 in Warkworth (Item 14.2). The public was excluded for the item. The resolution, RD/2026/224, was moved by Member Paul Manton, seconded by Deputy Chair Ivan Wagstaff, and carried. The board resolved to:

• confirm that a grant of a new lease to Sandspit Holiday Park should not be progressed
• ask council officers to start planning for the transition and termination of the month-to-month lease, including consideration of notice periods
• ask council officers to undertake a strategic assessment of future recreation, open space, environmental and community use options for the recreation reserve and the wider Sandspit reserve and spit area
• note that the occupation of the Brick Bay Drive Scenic Reserve and the unformed legal road is being dealt with through separate compliance and public land management processes.

The minute of the decision was released to the public on 7 October 2026, and a redacted copy of the officers' report was proactively released on 14 October 2026 (Auckland Council, Rodney Local Board minutes and proactive release, Oct 2026).

Which land does the decision cover, and who holds the lease?

Sandspit Holiday Park runs across two kinds of land: council-owned recreation reserve (Sandspit Reserve, classified under the Reserves Act 1977) and adjoining privately owned land. Only the reserve portion is affected by the board's decision. The council report identifies the occupier as Sandspit Holiday Park Limited and notes the lease area includes two council-owned heritage buildings, the Old School Hall and the Headmaster's House, which the operator uses for recreation and accommodation (Rodney Local Board report, 16 Sept 2026).

Local Matters reported that the affected area is about 6,000 m², at the front of the 16,000 m² park, taking in much of its flat land and bordering the beach (Local Matters, 9 Oct 2026). The released council report does not state the area in the sections that are not redacted.

When does the lease end?

It already has, in a formal sense. According to the council report, the previous lease expired in 2022 and the campground has occupied the reserve since then on a month-to-month holding-over arrangement (Rodney Local Board report, 16 Sept 2026). The board has not set an end date. Council officers have been asked to plan the transition and termination, including notice periods, reinstatement and "make-good" requirements. No termination date had been made public as of 19 October 2026.

Why did the board decline a new lease?

The report recommended Option A (discontinue campground use and repurpose the reserve) over Option B (grant a new lease and keep the current operation). The reasons given in the released report include:

• Long-term use of public land. The board "has expressed a desire to reassess whether continued campground use represents the most appropriate long-term outcome for the reserve". Officers advised that a new lease "would effectively commit the reserve to ongoing private and exclusive occupation before alternative public outcomes have been assessed".
• How the site operates. Officers noted that the reserve land "currently operates as part of a broader private commercial operation rather than as a standalone campground", and that no critical campground infrastructure (power, water, wastewater, amenities or management systems) sits on the reserve.
• Costs to the board. The board is responsible for structural maintenance of the two heritage buildings. It spent about $157,000 on the Old School Hall in 2023/2024 and about $130,000 on the Headmaster's House in 2025/2026. Officers said the annual rent (redacted in the release) "does not reflect the significant renewal costs incurred by the local board".
• Discretion. The report states the board "is not required to grant a new lease and retains discretion in determining the future occupation of the reserve".

The report also acknowledged trade-offs: council would lose the rental income, and could face transition, reinstatement and future development costs that are "currently unknown". Its risk table lists "community concern regarding closure of the campground" and a possible challenge to termination, with stakeholder engagement and following the proper legal process as the mitigations (all from Rodney Local Board report, 16 Sept 2026).

What could the land be used for next?

No new use has been decided. The report says officers "are not recommending any specific future use" and will first carry out a strategic assessment. Opportunities the report lists for investigation include public open space and recreation, environmental enhancement, community use, visitor and tourism-related uses, and repurposing the two heritage buildings as community facilities through venue hire or community leases. Any assessment is to consider the Rodney Local Parks Management Plan and the Rodney Greenways Plan, and is to include engagement with mana whenua (Rodney Local Board report, 16 Sept 2026).

The adjoining Brick Bay Drive Scenic Reserve, currently used for boat parking, and an adjacent unformed legal road are described in the report as unauthorised occupations. Council is addressing these separately, with Auckland Transport engaged on the road.

How long has there been camping at Sandspit?

Camping on the site dates from 1935, according to Local Matters (9 Oct 2026) and an earlier NZ Herald feature (15 Jan 2012). On that date, 2026 marks about 91 years. The Herald feature reported that the site became a commercial campsite in the 1960s, and that owners Jared and Zena Morrison had then run the park for six years. The council report puts campground operation on Sandspit Reserve at "approximately 80 years", and the petition refers to "over 80 years". The figures differ because they measure slightly different things: camping on the wider site versus the campground's occupation of the reserve.

At peak season the park hosts up to 600 visitors at a time, according to Local Matters (9 Oct 2026). The freehold land and business at 1334 Sandspit Road were marketed for sale by Bayleys in late 2025, with a set sale date of 4 December (Stuff advertisement by Bayleys, 24 Nov 2025). The council report lists a "potential challenge arising from sale of the adjoining campground business" as a risk. Whether a sale has been completed has not been confirmed publicly.

What are the owner and the community saying?

Camp owner Jared Morrison told Local Matters that without the lease the campground will no longer be viable for summer holiday campers (Local Matters, 9 Oct 2026). Stuff covered the decision on 16 October 2026 under the headline "'A massive shock': Beloved 90-year-old campground faces closure".

The Change.org petition "Save Sandspit Holiday Park Petition", started by Sarah Finch and published on 10 October 2026, says the decision "was made without sufficient consultation of those most affected". It asks Auckland Council and the Rodney Local Board to "provide a transparent explanation of its decision", to "engage meaningfully with all stakeholders" and to reconsider. It also raises concern about the effect on local shops, cafes and businesses. The petition had 5,001 signatures against a goal of 5,000 when checked at 2:49 pm NZDT on 19 October 2026.

What happens next?

Council officers will develop a pathway for ending the current occupation, including notice periods and a reinstatement and make-good assessment, and will then carry out a future reserve use assessment. The board will make further decisions as that work comes back (Rodney Local Board report, 16 Sept 2026). People who want to share their views can contact the Rodney Local Board directly or speak at a board meeting's public forum.

Sources

• Rodney Local Board – Open Minutes, 16 September 2026 (Item 14.2, resolution RD/2026/224). Auckland Council. 16 Sept 2026. https://aucklandcouncil.resolve.red/portal/meeting/12356
• CONFIDENTIAL: Sandspit Holiday Park, Sandspit Reserve – Future lease arrangements and reserve assessment (proactively released, redacted). Auckland Council / Rodney Local Board. Report dated 16 Sept 2026; released 14 Oct 2026. https://aucklandcouncil.resolve.red/portal/meeting/12356/104088
• End of the summer holiday. Local Matters. 9 Oct 2026. https://www.localmatters.co.nz/auckland-council/end-of-the-summer-holiday/
• 'A massive shock': Beloved 90-year-old campground faces closure. Stuff (Caron Copek). 16 Oct 2026. https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/361045867/massive-shock-beloved-90-year-old-campground-faces-closure
• Save Sandspit Holiday Park Petition. Change.org. Published 10 Oct 2026; checked 19 Oct 2026. https://www.change.org/p/save-sandspit-holiday-park-petition
• Sandspit: Park one big happy family. NZ Herald (Imogen Crispe). 15 Jan 2012. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/travel/sandspit-park-one-big-happy-family/E7FMIY3TQCC6DVMRNWJZO7VAKM/
• Buyers pitch up as beloved Sandspit Holiday Park awaits next chapter. Stuff (advertisement by Bayleys Real Estate). 24 Nov 2025. https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/360894845/buyers-pitch-beloved-sandspit-holiday-park-awaits-next-chapter
• Up the Creek: Matakana. Boating New Zealand. 13 Sept 2021. https://www.boatingnz.co.nz/2021/09/up-the-creek-matakana/

This is general information, not professional advice.