Waitaki District Council committee yesterday agreed to lodge an official submission on a proposed parliamentary Bill revoking the status of three "reserves" in the Waitaki district.
The Waitaki District Council Reserves and Other Land Empowering Bill, a private member's Bill, is before the local government and environment committee in Parliament and the council's committee of the whole yesterday approved a draft submission supporting it.
The council submission would support the Bill, which would revoke the reserve status of the area known as the Palmerston Showgrounds, allowing the council to sell the showgrounds caretaker's house.
The submission pointed out the council had entered into an agreement for the sale of the showgrounds with the current lessees with consent from Ngai Tahu and the Department of Conservation (Doc), but the reserve status effectively gave ownership to the Crown.
The showgrounds themselves would be kept for public use.
The Bill would also remove the title of reserve from the Forrester Heights area around Lookout Point in Tamar St, Oamaru.
According to the draft submission, the council planned in 2004 to develop an "unkempt" piece of land at Lookout Point after a search of the freehold register indicated the council had clear title to the land.
However, plans came to a halt in 2006 after a change to the register mistakenly treatedthe area as a reserve, a mistake Land Information New Zealand (Linz) had admitted.
The Bill would also revoke the reserve status of a rural section at the north end of Oamaru, which the council sold in 2004, unaware of its reserve status.
Council property manager Dougall McIntyre said the proposed Bill sought to correct a mistake and the council's submission had the backing of both Doc and Ngai Tahu.
It had cost more than $9000 in legal fees and $9500 in total to draft the submission.
"The money comes from the property account."
