Land battle looms | Oamaru News | Local News in Oamaru

Waitaki Ratepayers and Concerned Citizens chairman Warren Crawford says the group will strongly oppose any plans to clarify the status of the new Forrester Heights sub-division.

This follows public notification of plans to introduce a local bill into Parliament, which the Waitaki District Council  is promoting to seek clarification on the land status around the Lookout Point area.

Mr Crawford said the bill was being promoted  as a local member's bill, meaning there would be no public consultation.

"We are unhappy about that," he said. "If council want to seek a change to the status of the Forrester Heights land, they should start again and go through the proper consultation process.

"It is technically a new bill and the correct process should be followed. If it goes back to a full consultation process with public input, we believe it won't be approved," he said.

The bill deals with three pieces of land in the Waitaki District: a residential section in Palmerston, a residential section in Oamaru and the rural/residential Forrester Heights section.

The three pieces of land have a  status of reserve as defined by the Reserves Act 1977, which essentially vests ownership  in the  Crown.

Solicitor Ben Coleman (Dean and Associates),  acting for  the council, said the bill's effect would be to revoke the reserve status of the Palmerston  and  Oamaru sections, allowing council to sell the Palmerston section to  its lessees. This would help regularise the occupation of the property and ensure the owners of the Oamaru section were given unencumbered proprietorship.

"In a nutshell, the bill will correct a historical administrative oversight and allow Waitaki District Council to move forward with its plans for Forrester Heights," Mr Coleman said. "The bill will also clarify the erroneous current reserve status of the section at Cape Wanbrow.

"In 1885, the land was set aside as an endowment for the benefit of (the then) Oamaru Borough Council by Order in Council. In 1937, the land was mistakenly made subject to a predecessor of the Reserves Act, and unfortunately, when a certificate of title was issued for the land in 1947, the reference to the Reserves Act was carried forward," he said. "The legislative effect will be to be confirm the land is indeed an endowment, as originally contemplated.

"We have been working with the District Land Registrar, Ngai Tahu, the Department of Conservation, the Commissioner of Crown Lands, the Member of Parliament for Waitaki and the Parliamentary Counsel Office  ... who have all been consulted regarding the issues that the bill clarifies, and who have consented to its content and objectives."

Forrester Heights has been steeped in controversy since it was first proposed in 2006. The 5.842ha block has been designated 29 sections, with selling prices starting from about $300,000, but further marketing and development was halted in 2007 when the council found  it did not have clear title.

Mr Crawford believes about $3 million of the profits from the sale of sections at Forrester Heights was earmarked for the Oamaru Opera House refurbishment. When development of Forrester Heights stalled, those costs were met by a loan.

"We don't believe the money is needed for the Opera House. It is certainly paying its bills," he said.

The issue was debated by the council in July last year, when  councillors agreed to proceed with a parliamentary private member's bill to correct the Forrester land status.

At that time, Councillor Kevin Malcolm questioned any costs that were still to be met before legal title was granted.

Although the decision by the council to proceed with a private member's bill was passed at the July 2011 meeting, it was not unanimous.

Council chief executive Michael Ross said the   proposal would give it freehold ownership.

"This decision is simply to put in place a process to achieve that. It does not commit council to any further actions at this time," he said.

It will cost the council $2000 to lodge the bill with Parliamentary Services, with other charges likely to be incurred.

Mature trees  on the block were felled some years ago and  Mr Crawford said they had been planted in the late 1800s by  children commemorating Arbor Day.

"These trees should have been replanted to give the public a place to enjoy," he said.
"If the sub-division goes ahead and once the tree stumps are removed, I believe the ground will become quite unstable."