US buyers mum on land access
New York couple Matt and Annette Lauer have confirmed reports they are behind the purchase bid for Hunter Valley Station but have remained silent about calls to reopen talks with public access advocates.
The Lauers have issued a statement through Queenstown lawyer Graeme Todd confirming they are the beneficial shareholders of Orange Lakes (NZ) Ltd, which is purchasing the pastoral lease from Taff and Penny Cochrane.
‘‘The Lauers will not be making any further statement relating to the purchase or their intentions for the property as the same has been detailed in information available from the Overseas Investment Office,’’ Todd said.
Lauer released a brief statement through Todd: ‘‘Annette and I have been coming to New Zealand for several years, and every time we visit, we feel lucky to be in a place of such endless beauty, inspiration and adventure. With our kids, we look forward to making a home here, being good stewards of the station, and part of the Wanaka community.’’
Todd could not be contacted to clarify whether the Lauers were willing to reopen negotiations about public access through the 6468-hectare lakeside station to the Hawea Conservation Park.
The station runs 35 kilometres up the north side of Lake Hawea and is surrounded by bush, mountains and conservation land.
The Overseas Investment Office has approved the purchase, subject to conditions released at the end of February, but it is not yet known when the transfer will be completed.
The Commissioner of Crown Lands must sign the purchase agreement off and can decline it, but cannot require more public access to the land ‘‘because the lease transfers under the same terms as the previous leaseholder had’’, according to Overseas Investment Office spokeswoman Joanna Carr.
Carr said there were no set statutory time frames for the commissioner to approve the transfer, ‘‘but the commissioner endeavours to make a decision as soon as possible’’.
The Overseas Investment Office conditions include public walking access over Sawyer Burn Track, non-commercial walking access on the western access to Sentinel Peak and continuing the current, occasional permission to access the land for non-commercial walking and non-motorised cycling.
The Contact Epic mountain bike race is secured through a condition for an annual race recreation permit.
Current access to Hunter Valley Station Road for walkers, hunters, fishers, non-motorised cyclists and horse riders is protected, and the purchaser must fund and maintain the road.
The purchaser must also fund and legalise Meads Road from State Highway 6 to Kidds Bush, hopefully putting an end to years of debate about that road’s status.
Environmental protection conditions include demolishing the High Burn Hut, preventing cattle access to the Hunter River flats and cull Canadian geese.
Several public access groups were involved in negotiating conditions and had hoped for more certain access to the head of the Hunter Valley and the 105,000ha Hawea Conservation Park, similar to that provided by Dingle Burn Station on the opposite side of the valley.
Todd and the Overseas Investment Office have both said the station is a working farm, so public access is difficult to provide.