A dispute over an Auckland property's heritage status has split one of the city's great walks in two.
Walked by tens of thousands, the North Shore coastal route runs through more than 70 private properties.
But its future is now very unsure.
Once a dog walkers' delight, now the North Shore coastal walkway is blocked by a wall. It's dividing not just a walkway but a whole community.
"It's pretty full on, it's pretty confronting isn't it?" one person told Newshub.
Part of the mighty Te Araroa Walk and lovingly called the 'lava trail', the walkway runs for kilometres along the North Shore coastline. It passes through 72 private properties but one is taking a stand.
"The owners want to gift the people of Auckland the walkway. No money for it - they want to gift it. And all they want in return is for the council to lift the heritage listing off the derelict old cottage," said Alex Witten-Hannah, a solicitor for the owners of the property.
On the other side of the fence is a pre-wartime bach. It has Category A historic heritage status, the highest category, reminding Aucklanders of how Takapuna used to be.
But after a series of stalled and failed sales negotiations with the council, the owners represented by Witten-Hannah are demanding that the council lift that heritage status. In return, they'll take down the fence.
"They put it on, they can take it off," Witten-Hannah said.
But Albany Ward Councillor John Watson said it's not as easy as that.
"There's a whole process that has to go through there and when it's all said and done it's dependent on criteria relating to heritage values," he said.
Takapuna Residents Association spokesperson Sandra Allen said "we just need a resolution".
And a petition led by the Takapuna Residents Association is demanding a speedy fix.
"It needs to be a safe walkway for people to go through - staircase doesn't cut it," Allen said. "I can't go scrambling around the rocks."
Those not willing or able to scramble around the blockage over the rocks need to take a detour which is hardly a leisurely stroll along the seaside. Locals concede though it's not all bad.
"I've done this every day for a week and I've lost a kg already," one told Newshub.
But with council and the owners still struggling to strike a deal, the dog days for this community are far from over.
