The sun is setting on the iconic Takapuna Beach Holiday Park.

Auckland Council announced today it will not renew the campground's lease next year in favour of a public reserve with a "marine hub function".

Devonport Takapuna Local Board said the lack of reserve land and the expected increase in demand for public space are the major reasons behind the decision.

Campground manager Gustav Taudien said the council was "100 per cent making a mistake" and has not listened to the thousands of people who support the holiday park.

About 27,000 guests from all over the world use the holiday park each year.

The Save Takapuna Beach Holiday Park Facebook page has more than 3000 likes and hundreds of postings from around the world recalling fond memories dating back to the 1930s.

Rosie Luoni Houghton's post says: "It would be a tragedy if this was taken away, where else in Auckland can you camp by a beach, we have enough parks for people to enjoy, let's protect our Kiwi icons."

Jude Robertson wrote: "Save Takapuna Beach Holiday Park - this is one of the things about New Zealand as for decades there were campgrounds at the beaches."

The council's decision is outlined in the Takapuna Beach Reserve Management Plan which is now open for public submissions.

Takapuna resident Fay Hobday started a petition to close the campsite and open it as a public space - a move that had been suggested and she had petitioned for previously.

"We need to think forward, time moves on. In the 1930s when there were very few people here it was different," she said in May last year.

Auckland councillor George Wood has spoken out in favour of the campground.

"It's been part of Takapuna since about the 1920s. Many people have fond memories of it," he said last year.  

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- © Fairfax NZ News

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