Council makes trade for last of the lagoon

Porirua City Council has agreed to pursue a land swap with the NZ Transport Agency that will mean land at Aotea Lagoon and Bothamley Park will become recreation reserve under council ownership.

The council has been trying to acquire all the land at Aotea Lagoon since the 1980s. This last strip of land, owned by the New Zealand Trans- port Agency, will complete the process.

NZTA needs to acquire land from the council for the Transmission Gully motorway and are keen to agree a Memorandum of Understanding with the council to swap land they own at Aotea Lagoon and Bothamley Park.

‘‘This will enable the council to have management and control over all the land at Aotea Lagoon and at Bothamley Park,’’ says Te Komiti chairman Euon Murrell.

‘‘Aotea Lagoon is our premier visitor destination park and the 75ha Bothamley Park is the ‘green heart’ of Porirua so this will be a significant gain for the city.’’

He says the council’s property subcommittee will be involved with negotiations on the proposed land swap.

The MOU is expected to be negotiated and agreed by mid-2013.

In 2010, the council and the Minister of Conservation approved a lease to Aquacom Ltd for a cableway at Aotea Lagoon subject to a number of conditions.

This was to ensure the council retained overall control of land used for any proposed activity.

Photo: RUSS FINNERTY Productive party: Lissa Harrop, Alice Wards, Christina Borthwick, Katherine Wharton, Andrea Tucker, bride-to-be Jo Dovey, and Amber Batson larking about inside the Habitat for Humanity home.