Property developers buy Windy Point
New Plymouth property developers have bought one of the city’s most historic and controversial sites for a little more than half its rateable value.
A 1.8 hectare slice of culturally significant Maungaroa, also known as Windy Point, had been put on and off the market by telecommunications company Chorus New Zealand for the past two years.
In December tenders closed and the land, which has sweeping views across the city and along the coast, was purchased by Egmont Valley Holdings Limited for $462,500, property records show.
The rateable value of the land as of September 1, 2019 was $880,000.
The directors and shareholders of Egmont Valley Holdings Limited are New Plymouth couple Christopher and Pamela Herd.
The Herds, who could not be reached for comment, are the directors of a number of companies including Knight Group NZ Ltd, Manor Property Ltd and Active property Developments Ltd.
Chorus has owned the land, which was previously owned by Telecom, since 2009 and decided to sell it and use the money to invest in infrastructure to give rural communities better broadband.
The land was acquired under the
Public Works Act in the 1930s from Te Kaho Heremia, for a water reservoir that was never built.
In late 2017 Heremia’s descendants lit a fire as ‘ahi ka¯ ’, a symbol of occupation, or title to the land, which the wha¯ nau could trace back through family links.
At the end of 2019 when a group of people passionate about the land and wanting it returned to its descendants found out about the imminent sale, they protested.
Signs were put over the ‘For Sale’ sign, saying ‘Chorus’s Ihumaatao Moment? Not for sale’.
The remaining 2.03ha site on Maungaroa is owned by New Plymouth District Council (NPDC) and was not included in the sale.
Several years ago Taranaki archeologist Ivan Bruce conducted a survey of Maungaroa for archeological sites and wrote a report for NPDC after finding a storage pit and half of a Ma¯ ori house on the northern flank of the hill.
An area, crossing a portion of both the private and council-owned portions, has been marked as an archeological site in the NPDC’s district plan, meaning resource consent is required for any new buildings within 50m of the archeological site or 100m within the site for buildings greater than two storeys.
Resource consent is also be required for any subdivision, undertaking earthworks, filling of land, and clearance of vegetation, on or within 50m of the site.
Any developers would also be required to complete the archaeological authority process through Heritage New Zealand.
The NPDC has not received any resource consent applications for the site.
If the site were to be subdivided it could net the developers a solid return given a 300 square-metre section on a nearby street is currently on the market with a starting negotiating price of $239,000.