THE long-standing overall intent of developing the Hamilton Coleraine Rail Reserve as a viable walking and cycling track appears to have recently raised a considerable level of antagonism and exasperation to some in the community, with matters including soil testing for chemicals and missing property only adding to the acrimony in the last few weeks.

A landowner living adjacent to the reserve just outside of town said the gate that he placed at a road crossing had been taken, and that the goodwill created by a long-standing agreement for keeping grass controlled has been eroded.