Speed bump on hall sale

The descendants of the namesake of a rural Taranaki village are protesting the sale of the community’s hall with less than two weeks until tenders close.

Lepperton Hall and its land is on the market after the school petitioned the New Plymouth District Council to sell it and give them the proceeds towards a new school hall, which would be shared by the community.

But the plan has not got the backing of Steve Lepper who fears the hall’s sale will rob the growing community of a chance to secure green space in the centre of the town.

‘‘It’s got some urgency because the place is now on the market. If it is sold we will lose some of that ground in the middle of Lepperton. Return the piece closest to the road, closest to the shop, for a green space,’’ Lepper told the Waitara community board last week.

The land is currently zoned ‘open space’ and is likely to change to residential once it is sold. Lepper, a descendant of Colonel Maxwell Lepper who was allocated the land after his retirement from the Taranaki militia, went to the community board with his wife Angie looking for a ‘‘common sense way of rectifying what we see as a problem going forward’’.

District planning lead Juliet Johnson said it would take a resolution by council to stop it.

Lepperton School board chair Ian McCaul said they had followed all the correct processes.

‘‘There has been talk about the green space, but I think the process is far enough down the track now that it’s fait accompli,’’ he said.

The NPDC will give up to $270,000 of the proceeds from the old hall and land sale to the school.