Gore council shelves subdivision project
Gore District Council has pulled the pin on a residential subdivision in east Gore because of a significant increase in development costs.
In February this year, the council launched Matai Ridge, a subdivision that would have delivered 38 serviced sections to the market. It was on 3.6 hectares of land bought by the council in 2016 for $360,000.
Council chief executive Steve Parry said he believed people wanted to see the subdivision ‘‘in the flesh’’ and completed before they decided to buy a section.
‘‘It’s difficult to say to people ‘see where that sheep is rubbing its backside on that fence post? That’s the outlook from your new lounge’.
‘‘In a hot market you get people buying straight off the plans but in Gore, we’re a bit more conservative and traditional and people want to be able to see it completed first.’’
One section was under contract subject to the title being issued, and that buyer would have their deposit refunded, Parry said.
The first lot of titles were expected from early next year.
The decision to defer the development was made by majority vote at the council’s meeting on Tuesday night.
Parry said debate about the subdivision was ‘‘passionate and robust.’’
‘‘Councillors were torn, they’d love to see it go ahead but the land prices we could obtain don’t justify the expenditure at the moment. Hopefully, that will change.’’
The site will be restored into pasture and retained by the council.
The council became aware of increased costs following a redesign of infrastructure for stage one.
The original contract value for infrastructure increased by $392,680, meaning the cost of the development would have exceeded expected returns from the sale of sections. The sale of only one section off the plans contributed to the council’s lack of confidence to go ahead with the project at this time.
The project has cost $328,345 so far. This figure includes design and construction costs, as well as project management and legal fees.
Signal Management Group was appointed to manage the development.
Gore District Mayor Tracy Hicks said the council’s decision to land bank the site meant it still had an approved, fully designed residential development it could roll out when the time was right.
‘‘I still believe there will be an opportunity for this project to be realised, when you look long-term and take into consideration the impact of such developments as Mataura Valley Milk,’’ said Hicks.
Matai Ridge had been the main focus of the council’s growth development committee, set up following the last local body elections to target economic development and growth.
‘‘In a hot market you get people buying straight off the plans but in Gore, we’re a bit more conservative.’’ Steve Parry