19/12/2025
Woodhill Sands Trust – Urgent Community Update
Subject: Temporary Suspension of Equestrian Activities at Woodhill Sands
Date:19 December 2025
The Woodhill Sands Trust wishes to advise our community that we have received a formal abatement notice from Auckland Council’s Regulatory Division, requiring Woodhill Sands to cease all equestrian activities at the venue for the foreseeable future.
What this means:
• All equestrian activities at Woodhill Sands must pause, effective immediately.
• This pause is required to remain in place for the foreseeable future until the Resource Consent conditions are met.
• The Trust is legally required to comply with this notice and is doing so in full.
Why this has occurred:
The abatement notice relates to regulatory and consent matters currently under consideration by Council. While this is understandably frustrating for our community, this step is procedural in nature and does not reflect the quality of the venue, horse welfare, or the professionalism of users and organisers.
What the Trust is doing:
• The Trust is actively engaging with Auckland Council and relevant advisors to work through the outstanding regulatory matters.
• We are using this enforced pause to prepare documentation and next steps so discussions can progress promptly once Council reopens.
• Our focus remains on achieving a clear, compliant, and sustainable pathway forward for the venue.
What this means for upcoming activity
• Unfortunately, no equestrian use of the venue can take place during this period.
• We ask all users, organisers, and visitors to respect this requirement so the Trust can demonstrate good faith compliance.
• Further updates will be provided as soon as Council engagement resumes and we have confirmed next steps.
Our message to the community
We recognise the disappointment and disruption this causes and thank our community for their patience, understanding, and ongoing support. Woodhill Sands is a much-loved, community-owned facility, and the Trust remains fully committed to its future.
We appreciate that this is a challenging time, and we ask that all enquiries and commentary remain respectful as we work through the process.
Further communication will be shared once we are able to provide clarity following Council’s return in late January.
Ngā mihi,
The Woodhill Sands Trust
Send a message to learn more
