Council land purchase expands community and development options

Oamaru is about to have more reserve land, extended linked walking tracks and more land available for in-fill residential development.

 

The additional resources will result from the Waitaki District Council’s recent purchase of 7.9578ha of Ngai Tahu land on the Hospital Hill reserve off Stoke Street.

 

Council signed an agreement to buy the land from Ngai Tahu Property Ltd for $660,000 plus GST from endowment funds last week.

 

Chairman of the property committee, Councillor Peter Twiss said before 2002 the site had been administered by the council for the Department of Conservation.

 

“In 2002 the council of the day began negotiations with DOC to revoke the Reserve status on the property so that it could be freed up for future residential development. The Crown as the underlying owner of the land has a statutory obligation to offer the land to Ngai Tahu and the council entered negotiations with both DOC and Ngai Tahu for the purchase of the land.”

 

He said the council had owned freehold title to 6.16 hectares of land between the site in question and the former hospital site, but this had no access to public roading.

 

“The purchase of the additional land offers an opportunity for council to call for expressions of interest from private developers to build new housing that uses existing infrastructure and reduces residential strip development in Oamaru.”

 

The purchase also means that existing walkways on the hospital hill can be extended and linked, and three small parcels of land on the site can be planted out as reserves.