Golf course to be replaced by earthworks

The owners of a large block of greenspace north of Wellington have been given consent to start earthworks to prepare the ground for development.

A resource consent granted in February by the Upper Hutt City Council shows the Society of Mary wants to construct a cleanfill over 17.4 hectares of flood prone land in the southern part of Upper Hutt.

The society is a congregation of the Catholic Church also known as the Marist Brothers, which administers St Patrick’s College, Silverstream on land bordering the site of the consented works.

A report prepared for the society last year mentioned a ‘‘proposed village’’ being built on the land.

Raising the land by an average of 3.1 metres above the floodplain would make it suitable for building on. About 550,000 cubic metres – the equivalent of 220 Olympic-sized swimming pools – would be needed to raise the land to the required height.

Land to the north closer to the Hutt River would be used as an 11.9ha flood conveyance area, requiring 196,000 cubic metres of material to be shifted.

Earthworks to prepare the site could take up to 10 years.

The 9-hole course attached to the Prodrive Golf Silverstream complex in Upper Hutt closes today. Prodrive co-owner AJ Ragg confirmed the closure, saying notice was given on its lease by the society.

He believed the course would make way for the earthworks, though he did not know what the society planned to build. The proshop and driving range, which hold a separate lease, would remain for now, Ragg said.

The southern part of Upper Hutt is known for its green surroundings. Silverstream Spur, near the Society of Mary land, is subject to a contentious proposed land-swap between the council and Guildford Timber. They want to put up to 1500 houses on the ridgeline.