Flood-prone properties may be sold – with a catch
Twenty Christchurch riverside properties could soon be on the market as the city council looks to recoup some of the $8 million it spent buying the land.
But there is a catch. No habitable buildings are allowed to be built.
The city council decided in 2017 to purchase properties at risk of frequent flooding from the Heathcote River. Some homes had flooded above the floor four times since the 2010-11 earthquakes. The council purchased 20 properties and another two are under contract.
The properties are empty, after the homes were either demolished or relocated, and the council can see no obvious future use for the land. It was expecting to pay $45,000 annually in rates and maintenance if they were not sold.
A council committee will decide tomorrow whether to recommend the council approve the sale of the properties via tender and whether to register a caveat on the title preventing any habitable structures being built.
Valerie Campbell is calling on the council to convert some of the empty properties into riverside playgrounds, butterfly parks and eco-hubs.
Campbell, who lives next to one of the empty properties on Clarendon Terrace in Woolston, said the council should consider the merits of each property separately. The community could be responsible for developing the projects.
A council report said some neighbours had expressed an interest in buying the properties to give them a bigger yard and some wanted to use it for parking areas.
Campbell believed the council should offer the properties to the neighbours first, which would allow people to extend their gardens.
One property has already been sold because it was a condition of the original purchase. The vendors were also the adjoining land owner and requested they be able to buy the property back. The Eastern Terrace property was bought by the council for
$452,500 and sold back to the original owner for $25,000 after the home was demolished. Future building has been prevented.
The council paid between
$180,000 and $725,000 for the properties, equating to $8.1m. About $16.5m had been budgeted for the buyout, but it was not known how much the council spent demolishing the buildings.
The buyouts were part of a more than $70m programme to address flooding issues in the area.
The council can see no obvious future use for the land.