IKEA converting NZ land for plantations

INGKA GROUP, THE LARGEST FRANCHISEE OF IKEA STORES internationally, has received consent to buy more sheep and beef farming land in the South to convert to forestry.

The Overseas Investment Office’s April decisions include a successful application by Ingka Investments Forest Assets NZ and Ingka Investments Management NZ, from the Netherlands, to acquire some 1118 hectares of land in Koneburn Road at Waimumu.

The applicants are owned by Ingka Investments BV, the investment arm of Ingka Group, one of 12 different groups of companies that own the Swedish furniture and homeware giant.

In a statement, the company stressed the property — like its other two New Zealand acquisitions — would be planted in plantation forestry, not used for carbon farming.

Koneburn, owned by Brian and Dawn Copland, has been in the Copland family for four generations. For the past 27 years, it has been leased by Mr and Mrs Copland’s daughter, Deborah, and her husband, Jon Wood.

The sale price was withheld. The decision summary said the applicant had been granted consent to acquire the land under the special test relating to forestry activities.

The summary said the company intended establishing and maintaining plantation forest — predominantly radiata pine — over parts of the land at Koneburn assessed as being best suited to forestry.

The company estimated new planting of about 977ha of the land which was best suited to planting after allowing for infrastructure (4.9ha), native plantings (52.5ha), unplantable (43.3ha) and various setbacks (31.3ha).

It has proposed subdividing and selling about 9ha, including a house and three sheds.

Last year, it got consent to buy 5500ha sheep and beef station Wisp Hill in the Owaka Valley and it acquired the 610ha Old Hill Rd property in Central Hawke’s Bay in April.

At Wisp Hill 300ha of gorse has been removed. The first 274,000 of three million seedlings have been planted — including more than 40ha of manuka with the potential to support up to 200 beehives — and 20km of new, all-weather roading have been laid.