At a full meeting of the Central Otago District Council in Alexandra yesterday, councillors agreed to revoke the local purpose (amenity) reserve classification of 619sqm of the Waenga Dr Greenway Reserve.
The final decision follows the council’s hearings panel meeting twice, first on September 14 and reconvening on October 15 to deliberate allowing Foodstuffs to buy the site for the expansion of New World Cromwell.
The panel heard and considered both verbal and written submissions from eight opposers and four supporters to the proposed revocation of the reserve classification to allow for the operational footprint of the supermarket to be expanded.
Any sale of reserve land was not considered lightly and was the least preferred option.
The panel noted the submissions against the proposal made valid points but given the constraints of the current New World site and agreed conditions from Foodstuffs that it would enhance the remaining reserve land, the application to revoke the reserve status of the land was considered acceptable.
In its decision, the panel acknowledged the proposed revocation would reduce the available open space in the immediate vicinity but the balance of the reserve would continue to function as classified.
The balance of the reserve would be enhanced through the proposed landscape plan.
The hearing panel’s decision followed a similar recommendation to the council from the Cromwell Community Board at its meeting on June 15.
Councillors yesterday also agreed to notify the Minister of Conservation in writing of the resolution to request the revocation be approved and notified by gazette notice.
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the price charged for the land taken for this significant expansion is not reported. One only hopes that they charged them like a wounded rhino for it, as any private developer/landowner would. But probably not methinks. Did they charge them anything at all for it? It's possible, given the talk of trade off development/landscaping - but I guess that it's all covered by 'commercial sensitivity'. I have always believed that the sale price of any public asset to a private entity should not be made secret by this or any other means.
Perhaps the ODT could at least ask the question and publicly report the brush off if that's what they get.