Historic FARM up for sale
The residential boundary ring-fencing one of the Waikato’s foremost service towns is to expand considerably, writes Katrina Tanirau.
A Waikato dairy town could be in line for a massive urban expansion due to zoning changes for a
79-hectare farm that is up for sale. The historic Morrinsville farm at 162 Studholme St, once owned by Morrinsville’s forefather Thomas Morrin, has just been placed on the market.
Bayleys Waikato is marketing the property for sale by tender, with tenders closing on February
28.
With the farm land now zoned for future residential use, the forecast from one real estate expert is that the land will most likely be converted into a new housing subdivision to satisfy the demands of Morrinsville’s urban growth.
The 79-hectare freehold dairy farm on Morrinsville’s northern fringe is currently operated with a
50/50 sharemilker in place running a herd of 252 cows.
Under Matamata-Piako District Council’s operative plan, the farm has been rezoned into 41 hectares of residential property and almost
38 hectares of rural/residential property – suitable for subdivision into bigger lifestyle-size sections.
Council senior communications officer Eion Scott said the council’s latest plan change is Plan Change 47, which supercedes the current zoning under the operative district plan (DP).
This plan change maintains the zoning for the residential portion of the site, while the rural residential portion has been rezoned rural with a Future Residential Policy Area (FRPA) overlay, he said.
‘‘The intention of the FRPA is to identify likely residential areas should we require it for future residential growth (20 years plus),’’ Scott said.
‘‘The operative DP zoning was proposed in November 1996 to provide for growth of Morrinsville, as it was then projected and to ensure that the land supply is aligned to our population projections and that there is room for future growth.’’
Bayleys Waikato salesman Mike Fraser-Jones said the farm’s land-use rezoning would most likely mean its days as productive real estate would be ending.
‘‘With the populations of many Waikato towns growing as residents from Hamilton move out of the city but not out of the province, towns like Morrinsville have all seen their catchments increase,’’ Fraser-Jones said.
‘‘That has placed demands on the limited housing stock in those towns.
However, for the most part, urban expansion in Waikato’s smaller towns has been piecemeal – with just a few houses being added here and there because of respective zoning constraints.
‘‘The rezoning of Studholme St is Matamata-Piako District Council’s direct response to alleviating housing pressure in the town. The obvious appeal of this farm for large-scale residential subdivision developers is firstly its gentle rolling contour – which would make for easy residential subdivision and laying down of utilities and infrastructure.
‘‘Additionally, there is the potential to add multiple new access roads into what would be a new housing subdivision by extending the current dead-end streets of Cobham Drive, George Street and Fairway Drive which currently terminate at the farm boundaries, and by adding access of Taukoro Rd.’’
Fraser-Jones said continuing the sharemilking partnership on the farm would provide holding income while any large-scale redevelopment plans were drafted and submitted to Matamata-Piako District Council for consent.
‘‘In its present well-established agricultural-production format, infrastructure and buildings on the farm included a 20-aside herringbone milking shed and a modest three-bedroom home let as part of the sharemilking contract,’’ he said. ‘‘The ‘continued existing use’ zoning policy of Matamata-Piako District Council does of course allow for the property to continue to be run as a dairying operation, so there is the potential that it could be bought as either an investment property or to serve as a run-off block.’’
Water for the farm is drawn from a bore and then pressure-fed through alkathene piping around the property’s 40 paddocks. Effluent is stored in two clay-lined ponds.
Auckland entrepreneurs Thomas and Samuel Morrin bought around 30,000 acres (12,000 hectares) and in 1874 established an estate called Lockerbie, planning the town of Morrinsville to house their workers. The brothers never stayed or settled in Morrinsville. The 1876 land title document gave Thomas Morrin title to the Motumaoho block, which was absorbed within the huge estate, Lockerbie. The town of Morrinsville was established to house the estate workers.
Lockerbie passed to the Government in the 1890s, and land around Morrinsville was subdivided for closer settlement. Morrinsville became important because it was a junction for roads and railway lines. As dairying developed, the district became one of the most intensively farmed in the Waikato. Morrinsville grew into a prosperous farming town, with large saleyards, farm machinery outlets, agricultural services and engineering firms.