KEY POINTS:
An emotional conflict is brewing about the fate of the former Centrepoint commune site and buildings in Albany.
The Public Trust looks set to sell the remaining valuable land. Spokesperson for a group of former members, Felicity Goodyear-Smith, says most want the area to become a public reserve and community centre. But a sale to a developer would be "unethical and immoral".
Public Trust spokesman Don Mather says the site, which is close to the Albany Mega Centre and new medium-density housing developments, is "a very valuable piece of property". Discussions about its fate are "sensitive" and the trust will not reveal its decision for another few weeks.
Centrepoint was officially closed in 2000 after its spiritual leader Bert Potter and six commune members were convicted of charges relating to child sexual abuse. Centrepoint assets were placed in a trust managed by the Public Trust.
Parts of the site have since been sold, but about 7.6ha of bushland - including central buildings, a commercial kitchen, some housing, a crche, arts and craft studios - and a 25m pool remain.
The site is tenanted by a group of about 45 people, who want to buy the land and keep it as a community, and public arts and organic gardening space. The lease expires on June 30.
But Goodyear-Smith says many people associated with Centrepoint did not want the site sold to the new residents, either. The site's land and buildings were "a jewel" created over many years by families and individuals who had signed over all their assets to the commune.
North Shore Mayor Andrew Williams said the council wanted to acquire the land, through its Development and Reserves Contribution Funds, for a community park. The Public Trust was requiring the destruction of some buildings as a condition of purchase, he said.
This was because former Centrepoint members wanted them destroyed because of their "bad history".
The Public Trust has had the land valued but Mather said the results were "commercially sensitive". Former commune members stand not to make any money from future asset sales, as it would be reinvested for the trust. Ironically Bert Potter received a direct payout of around $49,500 each to leave the community.
