Former Kaipara dairy factory handed over

The Kaipara District Council has agreed to place the former Kaipara dairy factory building at Whakapirau into private hands to help resolve confusion over who owns the land.

In late 2010, Brett Taylor purchased the building on the Whakapirau wharf in a private sale from what he thought was the previous owner with the intention of using it for visitor accommodation and a community hall.

During the processing of a marine permit application made by Mr Taylor, it was discovered the building was on an esplanade reserve belonging to Kaipara District Council which meant the council was the owner of the building.

It was agreed, Mr Taylor had purchased the building in good faith and the building had been sold privately a number of times before. The council had not been aware of the fact it was the legal owner, nor had it ever received proceeds from any of the sales.

The building is listed with the New Zealand Historic Places and as such there are requirements regarding specialised restoration and maintenance. As the current owner, these costs would lie with the council. It was noted such a building in a remote area carried high costs and risk to the council with little or no return.

On Wednesday, the council agreed to Mr Taylor's request to transfer ownership of the building back to him and that they would make a grant to Mr Taylor of the purchase price.

Operations manager John Burt said before the council could give consideration to the additional request of leasing the 'footprint of the land on which the building sits' there were statutory processes to be followed and these could require public consultation under the Reserves Act. Processes include changing the esplanade reserve status to allow a commercial activity, and a resource consent at Mr Taylor's cost.