Northland council's Houhora camp lease extension angers iwi

The renewal of the lease for the Houhora Heads Motor Camp, above, has angered local iwi Ngai Takoto.

Far North District Council's lease extension for Houhora Heads motor camp has angered local iwi Ngai Takoto, who opposed the move from the outset.

Wallace Rivers, Te Runanga o Ngai Takoto acting chief executive, said from Kaitaia he was disappointed council had voted to extend the site's lease.

Far North District Council has voted to extend the lease for its Houhora Heads motor camp on the shores of Houhora Harbour, 40km north of Kaitaia. The current lease runs out in September 2026.

The council voted to change the current lease type to a land lease, with an initial term of 21 years and right of renewal for a further 21 years beyond that. A land lease means the business leasing the property will own all site improvements since 1993 – including $120,000 of council improvements transferred for $1.

The motion to vote in favour of this recommendation was moved by FNDC councillor John Vujcich and seconded by FNDC Mayor John Carter.

Rivers said the lease extension only served to further muddy the waters about ownership of the land on which the motor camp was built.

The motor camp, about 75km south of Cape Reinga, is on 6.38 hectares of FNDC recreation reserve land. Houhora Heads Motor Camp Limited has leased the land for 27 years since 1993.

Rivers said Ngai Takoto had sought the return of the Houhora Heads motor camp in its Waitangi Tribunal treaty claim. Its claim was settled in 2010. The campground land was not part of the settlement due to it being owned by FNDC.

He said this did not however stop Ngai Takoto still wanting the land returned, seeing the place as important and wanting to be part of its management.

Councillor Moko Tepania said Ngai Takoto had expressed its opposition to the campground lease extension.

"What are the follow-ups as a result with iwi groups - because next time we (FNDC) want to have a collaborative hui with them, how does that work?" Tepania said.

The site of the Houhora Heads Motor Camp.

FNDC consulted about the lease change proposal - as legally required because the campground is on recreation reserve.

The council delegated its Te Hiku Community Board to consider submissions and objections in response to public notification of the proposed new ground lease. Three submissions were received, all in favour of the proposal.

The agenda item on the campground lease changes said Te Hiku o Te Ika iwi was sent a letter with an offer to meet to discuss the proposal as part of public consultation.

A meeting had been held with Te Runanga o Ngai Takoto, one of the group's iwi, where it communicated its opposition to the lease change proposal and disappointment with FNDC over the matter.

"TRON (Te Runanga o Ngai Takoto) felt council were not engaging in a genuine conversation with iwi/Māori on options for co-governance or transfer of ownership of reserve lands," Rob Koops, FNDC property services, said in his Houhora campground lease change agenda item for the meeting.

"They also believed that the proposal excluded other investors from a public tendering process," Koops said.

Te Hiku Community Board was also asked to recommend to full council whether the proposed 21-year ground lease, with a further right of renewal for the same term over and above that, should be granted.

The community board recommended in favour of doing so.

Koops said the lease change recommendation would encourage ongoing investment in campground infrastructure improvements that would be fully funded and maintained by the campground operator – without cost to FNDC ratepayers.

The lease change recommendations voted in favour of also included limiting wholesale accommodation building that might take place at the campground.

Te Hiku Community Board chairwoman Adele Gardner said the lease change recommendation also included that no further temporary living places (structures) could be built at the camp without FNDC approval. This was designed to make sure a huge number of temporary facilities were not put in place to house avocado industry staff.

Koops said the campground lessee was planning further upgrades and renewals of facilities already on the site and needed a lease extension to get bank funding to do so.

"It should be noted that some of the (currently) lessor (FNDC) -owned facilities (the 4 X 2 pan toilet blocks for instance) are no longer fit for purpose for a modern campground," Koops said.

"Under the current lease the onus will be on council to renew the improvements at some point or purchase the lessee's interests in any buildings or improvements on termination of the lease," Koops said.

The current lease still had six years to run.

He said council would need to pay a minimum of $500,000 to replace the 4 X 2 pan campground toilets, should it take on the campground lease. A bespoke on-site build would cost FNDC ratepayers significantly more than that.

FNDC gets $22,000 plus GST annually from campground rent which is market adjusted every three years.

The council vote to change the lease type to land lease included it writing off the book value of any improvements it had made and paid for on the site and transferring their ownership to the lessee for $1.

Council improvements were valued at $80,000 in 1996 and now have a current book value of $120,000. Lessee improvements were valued at $70,000 with no current book value for these listed in the agenda item.

" … structures have over the years been upgraded extensively by the lessee to the point where it has become difficult to distinguish between lessor and lessee owned improvements," Koops said.