Mothballed subdivision may be sold
‘‘If I had my way then, yes, we’d sell it.’’ John Gardyne Gore councillor
The Gore District Council’s mothballed subdivision, Matai Ridge, may be sold if a councillor gets his way.
John Gardyne is the chairman of the council’s newly formed Surplus Property Subcommittee, which was set up to investigate selling assets that were surplus or under-performing to offset a $1.82 million increase in cost for the council’s new library.
In December, the council released concept plans for its new library and community space in the James Cumming Wing, after the former library building was closed because of black mould and asbestos.
The project cost has increased from an estimated $5m to $6.82m, with the council needing to borrow $1.32m to complete it.
Gardyne said the subdivision was on his list of land to be investigated.
‘‘It’s certainly one we’ll be looking at, and if I had my way then, yes, we’d sell it,’’ he said.
‘‘But we [the subcommittee] are only making recommendations, and they have to be put to the council.’’
The council voted to mothball the project in December 2018, sighting a significant increase in development costs. Council chief executive Steve Parry has confirmed the council has not instigated legal proceedings against companies or contractors that worked on the subdivision.
The minutes of a District Growth Committee meeting on November 27, 2018, which were obtained under the Official Information Act, show councillor Cliff Bolger, who was then deputy mayor, said ‘‘it was not a good look for the council to be suing one of its ratepayers’’, and he believed that issue needed to be put to one side.
At that meeting, which was held in committee, the committee was discussing a forecasted increase in costs because of issues with the subdivision’s proposed infrastructure.
Documents obtained under the Official Information Act show several local companies were contracted to work on the project.
The council spent $360,000 to buy 3.7 hectares of farmland in east Gore to develop the subdivision in March 2017.
The project was the council’s first foray into land development, but after months on the market only one section was under offer.
The council launched Matai Ridge in February 2018.
The subdivision would have delivered 38 serviced sections on to the market, with 17 in stage one.
Ratepayers were left with a loan of nearly $750,000 at the time work stopped on the land.