Ikea-linked overseas buyer can buy Wallingford Station in Central Hawke’s Bay

A stone seat to commemorate Wallingford Station, situated on Porangahau Rd, Central Hawkes Bay. The stone was erected in 1974 and inscribed with the words 'rest awhile and remember the achievements of your forefathers'. Photo / NZME

Land on a large Central Hawke’s Bay station is now allowed to be purchased by companies linked to Ikea, which has plans to turn most of it into forestry.

The Overseas Investment Office has cleared the sale of 606 hectares of Wallingford Station land on Pōrangahau Rd to Dutch-owned forestry giants Ingka Investments Forest Assets NZ and Ingka Investments Management NZ as part of a wider span of purchases in New Zealand and in the region.

The two are owned by Ingka Investments B.V., the investment arm of Ingka Group, which is the largest franchisee of Ikea stores internationally.

They paid $9.9 million under the special forestry category.

The sale does not include the nearby historic Wallingford Homestead, which has been brought back to life in recent years as a boutique accommodation facility and foodie paradise.

According to the decision, the applicants plan to establish and maintain 416.9ha of rotation forest during the 2024/2025 planting seasons.

The trees will be harvested after 27 to 30 years, and replanting will occur following harvest.

Wallingford Homestead is not a part of the sale.

The decision also states that the applicants intended to subdivide and sell 131 hectares of land.

This would include part of the land containing a residential dwelling (2ha) and part of the land better suited to farming (129ha).

“The remainder of the land will be unplanted, including native bush (17 hectares), buffer land, setbacks, riparian areas, roads and tracks,” the decision stated.

Preparations for the sale have been taking place for months.

A stock sale at Stortford Lodge in January saw 2500 capital stock romney ewes of all ages from Wallingford Station listed, with a stock report noting it was because of the impending sale.

The vendors listed in the OIO decision are listed as James Gareth Dunkerley and Somerville Dunkerley Trustee Company Limited as trustees of the Gareth Dunkerley Family Trust.

Gareth Dunkerley, who in 2018 bought Wallingford Station and the homestead, which is on a separate land title, was approached for comment.

The Places.Nz website states there are “many reasons” that Wallingford might become a subject of “historical fascination”. “An obvious first one might be that the Ormond Family retained ownership of the farm since John Davis Ormond began acquiring land here in 1853, the family only giving it up in 2017. The name of the farm he took from his home in the United Kingdom, Wallingford Berkshire.”

The New Zealand Herald previously reported that Ingka Investments forestland investment manager Andriy Hrytsyuk visited last year, saying the purpose of his trip was to meet stakeholders to communicate that it wanted to be a good neighbour.

He said biologically, New Zealand was one of the best places to grow trees and the country offered a great opportunity to continue its forestation programme.

The approval for sale comes as the future of forestry and foreign purchases of farmland are in the spotlight in Hawke’s Bay, after the destruction caused by pine washed down during Cyclone Gabrielle.

There were previously calls for a separate slash inquiry in Hawke’s Bay, but a recent report from Hawke’s Bay Regional Council revealed that while much of the woody debris found on Hawke’s Bay beaches was from pine trees most of it was not slash.

A recent National Party promise to ban foreign buyers from converting farmland to forests was also met with cheers and applause during National Party leader Christopher Luxon’s visit to Tukituki.