Land on either side of Iona Rd near Havelock North will be subdivided as part of the housing project. Photo / Paul Taylor
Land on either side of Iona Rd near Havelock North will be subdivided as part of the housing project. Photo / Paul Taylor
A “pointless” two-year court battle has come to an end over the sale of a prime piece of land outside Havelock North, meaning a major 600-home subdivision can now go ahead.
Developer CDL Land New Zealand Ltd bought a 69-hectare section of land for $58 million in mid-2021 from theHawke’s Bay-based Lowe family.
That property is located off Iona, Middle and Lane roads - to the southwest of Havelock North - and is largely zoned for residential development.
CDL has plans to subdivide that grazing land for about 600 new homes but a two-year court battle has stalled the project.
The Court of Appeal last month dismissed an appeal by a rival developer challenging the sale of the property, effectively bringing the lengthy court process to a close.
Subdivision plans for the site. Photo / Hastings District Council
CDL managing director Jason Adams said he was pleased with that decision.
“We can now focus on creating much-needed residential sections and housing in areas where they are needed, not fighting pointless battles in court and this decision allows us to get on with and deliver our Iona development as well as our other projects in the Hawke’s Bay.”
The subdivision project will be rolled out in stages and resource consent has already been granted for the first stage.
Rival developer Winton Property Investments also wanted to purchase the land and offered $32m in late 2020 which was rejected. A third company also offered $49m.
Winton (a Kiwi-owned company) began court proceedings in September 2021 after learning CDL had successfully purchased the property.
Stage 1 plans for the subdivision which have been granted consent. Photo / Hastings District Council
That court challenge centred around an Overseas Investment Office (OIO) decision to allow the purchase to go ahead.
CDL is about 60 per cent overseas-owned and required Overseas Investment Office consent to buy the land, which was granted as the OIO found there were “substantial and identifiable” benefits such as creating jobs and housing opportunities.
Winton challenged that decision in the High Court through a judicial review, but lost that review and had its application dismissed.
Winton then appealed that decision in the Court of Appeal which was dismissed last month, and the company was ordered to pay court costs.
Winton general manager of corporate service Justine Hollows said, “We are disappointed with the judgment and disagree with the outcome.”
However, she said they would not be taking any further action.
The areas zoned for residential development in the district plan. Photo / Hastings District Council
“In addition to the significant contribution to GDP and employment opportunities, when a New Zealand company develops land and builds homes, not only does the resulting product benefit the community, but the profits go back into the New Zealand economy, not offshore.”
Court documents have revealed some further details about the Havelock North housing project.
“[CDL] proposed to subdivide the land and develop it into a large number of sections to be offered for sale on the open market to New Zealanders for building purposes,” court documents read.
Court documents also stated those sections would range in size “from relatively small to relatively large” and “some of the lots would be used for intensive residential development”.
An OIO release said the project could cater for about 600 new homes.
