Ahuriri Estuary
Most people living in Napier do not realise that probably the largest and potentially wealthiest entity in our city is the Napier City Council. This is due to the major land reclamation which happened when we had the 1931 Earthquake.
The following are some facts gleaned from the "Napier City Council Long Term Plan 2015-2025", adopted on June 30, 2015.
A 350ha farm, called "Lagoon Farm", is situated on the western border of the city, on the south side of the Ahuriri Estuary. It currently runs cattle and sheep, and has some cropping. A quarter acts as a flood ponding area during unusual and extreme weather events. Adjacent to this farm is a developing residential area, called "Parklands Residential Development", of which it is intended to sell a further 346 sections by about 2022 at a rate of about 50 per year. The NCC owns this land.
The NCC leases 26 residential sections similarly to those leased by the Hawkes Bay Regional Council. These transferred into NCC ownership when the Hawkes Bay Harbour Board was disbanded. There are also 76 commercial leasehold properties which have leasehold rate reviews every 3-5 years. In the future plan it is observed - "Council's leasehold tenure could have a detrimental impact on investment in the region by businesses as lessees may prefer freehold land." The NCC owns this land.
In my opinion, these commercial leasehold properties in Onekawa/Pandora have held back business development in Napier. Why would you build a new building on one of these sites when you know the leasehold rent will likely increase in 3 to 5 years? Hastings has continued to develop into Hawke's Bay's commercial centre while Napier has sat and watched.
If the commercial leasehold properties were freeholded and residential development at Parklands and Lagoon Farm was encouraged, there would be the benefit of freed up cash for the benefit of the greater Hawke's Bay area and a Building/Development boom and growth here in Napier. It will all help our region develop.
In my opinion, the NCC has been good at running an equity gaining business but not necessarily one aimed at improving the day to day living of its citizens. Examples are pools which most of our citizens never use, Taradale Shopping Centre burdened with parking meters, annual rates steadily increasing, a visit to the rubbish transfer costing a fortune, For Lease signs all over the place ... I could go on.
I hope your Debate on Tuesday brought out some of these facts and perspectives. Perhaps someone can come up with how much these assets are potentially worth. It certainly does not appear in the 2015-2025 Long Term Plan.
* Ross Allan is a Napier-based Computer Consultant and Programmer
* Business and civic leaders, organisers, experts in their field and interest groups can contribute opinions. The views expressed here are not the newspaper's. Email: editor@hbtoday.co.nz.