A proposal for a subdivision with spectacular views over Oamaru Harbour stalled for eight years and became a hot issue in the town before it was dropped three years ago. Hamish MacLean reports plans for Forrester Heights are back on the table.
A potentially "prime'' but previously controversial subdivision overlooking Oamaru Harbour is getting another push from Waitaki's new economic development group.
Venture Waitaki chairman Simon Berry, who is also Whitestone Cheese chief executive, said Forrester Heights - a 22-section, 5.8ha subdivision on Cape Wanbrow first proposed by the Waitaki District Council in 2006 - could encourage the building of valuable properties above the town's waterfront.
"A lot of real estate guys and developers are saying there's not enough land available in the town and we see it as a hindrance to growth,'' Mr Berry said.
"There's a dormant subdivision there, if we want to grow the town, it would be really great to have some prime [land able to be developed].
"That would be the pin-up of real estate in town.
"And what would it do for brand Oamaru? Lovely sections up there overlooking the harbour; if you're looking to move to town, here you go. Here would be the discovery in the South Island of affordable sections overlooking the sea.''
A lack of information and "misinformation'' helped to stall the project in 2013, Mr Berry said.
Venture Waitaki started a conversation with the council about reviving the plans late last year and next week the group will distribute 7000 surveys to Oamaru households and host an online survey on its website to gauge support for the development.
In 2013, the Waitaki District Council Reserves and Other Land Empowering Act clarified the status of Forrester Heights as endowment land, overturning a clerical mistake from 1937 that classified the area as reserve land.
Later that year, though, the now-defunct Waitaki Ratepayers and Concerned Citizens Association presented then Waitaki mayor Alex Familton with a petition containing more than 700 signatures supporting Forrester Heights' becoming a reserve "never [to] be built on''.
The group, which had 40 members before it collapsed last year, argued against the subdivision for a number of reasons, including the potential for development to block inner Oamaru Harbour views from Lookout Point.
Conservation values of the site were raised: moa bones had been found in the area and it was used in the 19th century as a quarantine station for animals and humans.
The foremost concern was that the land was unstable, under-runners were present which made the land vulnerable, former chairman Warren Crawford said this week.
"If it is ... developed, it is going to be a disaster,'' Mr Crawford said.
"If the council develops it and it moves, the ratepayer will be liable.''
Mr Crawford said it would take many years to sell all the sections and if the issue progressed through the council it would become an election issue in the spring.
"There are still people who are concerned about Forrester Heights.''
Yesterday, Waitaki Mayor Gary Kircher said the council was playing the role of "interested bystander'' at this stage.
He said it was important for the community as well as the council to be "well-informed''.
But he believed the stability of the site would not put the development at risk.
"It's really not too different from ‘next door', which is fully built on,'' he said.
"Many of us have grown up on the hillsides of Oamaru where there is very much the same material.
"The council of the day had geotechnical engineers digging and drilling and checking out the whole site and putting their engineering reputations on the line.
"To my understanding, the [geotechnical] reports have never actually been made public. That is one of the things we could potentially do ... to make them public, so they can see there's really not too much to be concerned about there.''
Mr Kircher said there would need to be mechanisms put in place that would manage financial risks as well, but said there could be trade-offs for the community as well.
When it was first proposed, Forrester Heights was expected to generate $3million in profits, which were earmarked then to help pay for the $10million refurbishment of the Oamaru Opera House.
Now, some of the money generated from the subdivision could be used to "turn the rest of Cape Wanbrow - which is the great majority of the land - into a first class reserve'', Mr Kircher said.
Forrester Heights 2006-13
• What: 5.8ha (22 sections) on the edge of Cape Wanbrow
• Who: Proposed by former Waitaki mayor Alan McLay
• Concerns: Some say should be kept as reserve land; heritage site (moa bones found in 19th century and was a quarantine site); loss of views; land stability questioned.
• What happened: After eight years' wrangling, the land's reserve status was deemed a clerical error and it was returned to its original status as endowment land, but by then a 700-signature petition opposing the subdivision was presented to the mayor. Momentum was lost and the plan languished.
Forrester Heights 2016
• What: 5.8ha (22 sections) on the edge of Cape Wanbrow
• Who: Brought back on the table by new economic development group, Venture Waitaki, to generate a profit for the Waitaki District Council.
• What now: Preliminary discussions to resurrect the plan have begun. The economic development group will distribute 7000 surveys throughout Oamaru next week.
