19 August 2005

Crown Purchase of Waitangirua and Whareroa Farms Welcomed

The Council of Outdoor Recreation Associations (CORANZ) has strongly welcomed the Minister of Conservation's decision to purchase most of Waitangirua and Whareroa Farms.

"This purchase rights a wrong created in 1987, when these Lands and Survey Farm Parks were wrongly allocated to Landcorp, rather than to the Department of Conservation," CORANZ spokesman Hugh Barr said. "The farms are far more important as peri-urban open space and public farm park, than they would be as subdivided and sold off as Landcorp was planning".

"The Waitangirua farm has been listed as part of Belmont Farm Park since 1976. But being owned by a State Owned Enterprise, it was never securely held. And the public's use of the land has been severely restricted" Mr Barr said. "Landcorp's plans to subdivide the land and sell it off has triggered the Minister's actions. This is a great day for permanently protecting important open space for Wellingtonians".

ENDS

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