About 20 protesters had set up camp at Mt Messenger in September. About a dozen protesters were back on the northern side of the summit, earlier this week. Photo: RNZ / Robin Martin
About a half a dozen protesters opposed to the Mt Messenger bypass in North Taranaki remain camped on the side of State Highway 3, after a police operation to remove them failed.
About a dozen protesters had set up camp alongside a layby on the northern side of the summit earlier this week.
NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi said the protesters were trespassing and had asked police to remove them.
Debbie Pascoe whose Mangapēpeke Valley farm lies in the path of the project said the group were protesting against permits granted to Waka Kotahi by the Department of Conservation to remove or kill 46 native species from the area of the project, including endangered kiwi and archy's frog.
Pascoe said police moved in shortly after midday to remove the protesters.
Poutama Charitable Trust's Marie Gibbs said after a four-hour stand-off with the police, the protesters moved to the nearby Ngāti Tama land.
She said there has been a massive police presence on the mountain and about 80 officers were involved in today's operation.
In a statement released earlier this afternoon, police said protesters had been moved off the site and no arrests were made.
Two people were arrested when a similar protest was broken up in September.