By ANNE BESTON
The Auckland City Council has bought a piece of land at Epsom's Mt St John that was at the centre of a row over preserving the city's volcanic cones.
The Mt St John Preservation Society had launched a strong campaign to stop the building of a three-storey house on the western slope. The house would have peaked 2m above the summit.
Last month, the council agreed to make an offer on the 3655 sq m site in Warborough Ave to stop the development going ahead.
The land will now become part of the nearby Mt St John Reserve.
Acting parks and recreation committee chairman Bill Christian said the price paid was confidential because of other negotiations the council was involved in.
However, it is understood that the previous owners, Simon and Karel Barbara Lee, were paid in the region of $450,000.
Preservation society chairman John Street said the battle had raised awareness of the need to protect the volcanic cones from development.
"If we lose sight of the cones, the city will become just another sprawling, faceless, urban metropolis of no special distinction."
The council was forced to buy the land because it had approved a cross-lease on the section in 1991. It then found it could not legally stop the house being built.
Auckland City buys land to protect Mt St John
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