Councillors say Rodney land too valuable to sell

Mayor Of Rodney District Penny Webster. Photo / Supplied

Rodney District Council's effort to sell $100 million of property to repay debt has yielded $30 million and some council members want sales stopped.

A year ago, the council listed 44 properties deemed surplus, from the Mad Butcher shopping block in Orewa to land in Whangaparaoa and the historic Warkworth Hotel.

The task of selling was assigned to a council-controlled organisation, Rodney Properties. So far, 23 sales have been completed, all at market value, says the council's property services chief, Mark Johannsen.

Purchase agreements for a further two properties worth $1.8 million were unconditional and another 10 properties had conditional purchase agreements.

Mayor Penny Webster said yesterday sales were "going as well as can be expected in the current climate. We have achieved a 3 per cent drop in rates through sales at this stage."

A property to the south of Orewa fetched $7.4 million. It is the site of a new Southern Cross Hospital and private training pool complex, as well as an access road to Millwater Park, where 3000 homes are to be built.

Nine properties are being offered in what Mr Johannsen said was a "soft market". They include the Orewa commercial block, the 24.7ha at Whangaparaoa once owned by British author Jeffrey Archer and an 83ha farmlet at Huapai.

The Native Forests Restoration Trust says the Huapai property is more valuable as a bush reserve.

Deputy Mayor John Kirikiri said the Archer block also had bush and should be kept as a reserve. He and councillor Zane Taylor question the benefit of selling the eight retail units in central Orewa which a previous council bought as a strategic holding to provide civic space as the town developed.

"The place is growing - a further 22,000 people are expected in a decade with development in Orewa West, Millwater and Silverdale North. It has gone up for sale now when the market is flat and the danger is the council will not get anywhere near what it paid for.

"If that happens, the sale won't have a great effect on reducing debt and so rates."