The dairy farm at 162 Studholme St is on Morrinsville's northern fringe. Photo / Supplied
The dairy farm at 162 Studholme St is on Morrinsville's northern fringe. Photo / Supplied
An historic pocket-sized dairy farm, on the edge of Morrinsville, has been placed on the market at a time when the town's residential boundary ring-fencing is to expand considerably due to major land-use zoning changes.
The 79ha freehold dairy farm at 162 Studholme St, on Morrinsville's northern fringe is currentlyoperated with a 50/50 sharemilker in place running a herd of 252 cows.
The farm is being marketed for sale by tender through Bayleys Waikato, with tenders closing on February 28. Bayleys Waikato salesperson Mike Fraser-Jones says the farm's land-use rezoning would most likely mean its days as productive real estate would be ending.
Under Matamata Piako District Council's operative plan the farm has been rezoned into 41ha of residential property and almost 38ha of rural/residential property — suitable for subdivision into bigger "lifestyle" size sections.
The farm was once part of a far larger block first owned by Thomas Morrin — forefather of the town which went on to bear his family name.
However, with the farm land now zoned for future residential use, the land will most likely be converted into a new housing subdivision to satisfy the demands of Morrinsville's urban growth.
"With the populations of many Waikato towns growing as residents from Hamilton move out of the city but not out of the province, towns like Cambridge, Matamata and Morrinsville have all seen their catchments increase," Fraser-Jones says.
"That has subsequently placed demands on the limited housing stock in those towns. However, for the most part, urban expansion in Waikato's smaller towns has been piecemeal — with just a few houses being added here and there because of respective zoning constraints.
"The rezoning of Studholme St is Matamata-Piako District Council's direct response to alleviating housing pressure in the town. The obvious appeal of this farm for large-scale residential subdivision developers is firstly its gentle rolling contour, which would make for easy residential subdivision and laying down of utilities and infrastructure.
"There is the potential to add multiple new access roads into what would be a new housing subdivision by extending the dead-end streets of Cobham Dr, George St and Fairway Dr, which terminate at the farm boundaries, and by adding access off Taukoro Rd."
A view over the farmland towards Morrinsville. Photo / Supplied
Fraser-Jones says continuing the sharemilking partnership on the farm would provide holding income while large-scale redevelopment plans were drafted and submitted to council for consent.
He says in its present agricultural-production format, infrastructure and buildings on the farm include:
• a 20-a-side herringbone milking shed; • a modest three-bedroom home let as part of the sharemilking contract; • a six-bay implement shed; and • a five-bay implement shed.
"The 'continued existing use' zoning policy of Matamata-Piako District Council allows for the property to continue to be run as a dairying operation, so it could be bought as either an investment property or to serve as a run-off block," Fraser-Jones says.
Water is drawn from a bore and then pressure-fed around the property's 40 paddocks. Effluent is stored in two clay-lined ponds.
