The Gulf Harbour Country Club suddenly shut this month.
Whangaparāoa locals have organised a public meeting to discuss the future of the waterfront 18-hole Gulf Harbour Country Club, after this month’s sudden, unexpected closure.
Owen Paterson, secretary of Keep Whangaparāoa Green Spaces Inc, said it was in response to the club shutting and hundreds of people no longer being able to play golf there.
The meeting is to be held at 7pm on Wednesday, August 16 at the Gulf Harbour Yacht Club.
People are seeking answers about the future of the course and are worried about potential plans to develop the land, Paterson said.
Councillor John Watson, who has also expressed concern, will attend, Paterson said. Other councillors and council executives had been invited.
The group wrote to Auckland Council about the sudden closure, highlighting an encumbrance on the land to keep it green and for reserve or recreational purposes.
Property records show the site at 180 Gulf Harbour Dr remains owned by Long River Investments Corporation which lists its activities at the Companies Office as ‘investment - commercial property.’
The company’s sole director is Errol Wayne Bailey of Christchurch. Its sole shareholder is The Phoenix Trust, whose sole shareholder is Remuera’s Gregory Martin Olliver, an active property developer who’s had initial previous involvement in Long Bay on the North Shore and Stonefields.
Long River also owns 52 Regency Park Dr, Gulf Harbour, property records show.
Encumbrances on the title at 180 Gulf Harbour Dr are a caveat to John Muru Walters, an encumbrance to the Rodney District Council and mortgages to financiers 1543 Capital Fund LP and Alpha First Securities.
It’s not possible to see the club’s accounts in any public forum or see whether it is profitable or loss-making.
Long River filed its latest annual return last October, but because it’s a New Zealand company, the return can’t be viewed online. The club isn’t listed as an incorporated society or as a charity so nor are its accounts available on those forums.
Olliver was previously a Long River director but in 2021, the Companies Office issued a banning order against him over his plans for a property in St Heliers that, in part, was at the centre of an epic divorce battle with ex-wife Sarah Sparks. Olliver had to resign from dozens of companies of which he was a director.
Olliver’s business only bought the golf course in 2021. Requests to Olliver to comment on the golf course and what his future plans might be have not been answered.
Property records show the golf club land once had a rateable valuation of $18.3m, of which $9.4m was the land value and $8.8m for the buildings.
It was sold for just $12.8m in December 2012.
The site within Rodney district is designated for active outdoor and sporting use and is listed as having an area of 89ha. Gulf Harbour has an 18-hole course that hosted the 1998 World Cup.
This month, the Herald reported golf club director Wayne Bailey writing to members that the course would no longer operate. What happens to the $3000 members paid is uncertain.
“After two years of unsuccessfully looking for ways to make the running of the club financially viable, the Gulf Harbour Country Club will close with immediate effect. “Unfortunately the club continues to lose money. It is appreciated that many of you have absorbed higher fees in recent times, however notwithstanding this, costs continue to outrun revenue,” Bailey wrote.
Attempts by the Herald to reach Bailey via phone and email this month have not resulted in him responding or explaining what Long River’s plans are for the land.
Paterson said locals had heard parties were interested in buying the golf course and continuing to run it as a golfing business. That is what locals hope will happen, he said.
His group was well-resourced and prepared to fight any moves to set aside the encumbrance in court if the need arises, he said.
Members paid annual fees of around $3000 and at least one has complained to the Herald that he wants a refund.
Paterson said this was worrying.
“The impact of the course closure has been a blow to the hundreds of members who are now out of pocket and out of a golf course. We are informed that many had paid both corporate and individual subscriptions just days prior to the closure,” Paterson said.
In 2021, the Herald reported a large parcel of the golf course was already zoned for development although a covenant prohibits change on the rest.
John Watson, an Albany ward councillor, said some hectares of the Whangaparāoa land near the clubrooms could be developed as of right, although a covenant was put in place on the rest of the land nearly two decades ago and meant it couldn’t be used for anything except golfing.
A petition has been launched to try to ensure the land’s current zoning keeps it as open space and people are saying they want their fees refunded.
Paterson’s group has also organised a petition, Keep Gulf Harbour Country Club’s Open Spaze Zoning.
That now has 3900 signatures at change.org to try to ensure the land isn’t developed into houses or a retirement village.
Byron Krause, a resident as well as a group and a club member, said last Monday people were “devastated” the course had closed.
Golf was growing as a recreational activity and it was hard to fathom why the club was not viable, he said. Annual membership was $3000 and people wanted their money refunded.
“I’ve wasted $3000 on the golf course I can’t use. I’m not the only one. Others only joined last week. We were only notified last Thursday of the closure. We want our money back,” Krause said of club fees.
Watson said he understands why people are concerned about the land’s future.
“This club was built 25 years ago and has been through different ownerships. It is a high-class golf course in terms of its layout, clubhouse and facilities. If this ownership hasn’t been able to make it work to a favourable end in terms of their investment, the community would hope a new buyer would come in and make it work,” he said this month.
He supports the locals opposing any attempts to remove the encumbrance and develop the land.
Anne Gibson has been the Herald’s property editor for 23 years, has won many awards, written books and covered property extensively here and overseas.
'Some people can’t remember anyone in their family owning a home.'