Holiday park sale turns sour on eve of settlement

The Blue Heron Holiday Park on Whangarei Harbour

American Joy Stockwell has walked away from a $1.687 million agreement to buy the Blue Heron Holiday Park on Whangarei Harbour, 48 hours before the deal was to be settled.

Owners Maureen Ross and Peter Smythe say they are "gutted" at the 11th-hour withdrawal and have put the property back on the market.

They have almost completed moving to a new property near Whangarei and most of the tenants of the camping ground have left after being advised that Ms Stockwell - former wife of Hollywood movie star Dean Stockwell - would be charging a significantly higher rental.

Ms Stockwell, speaking from California where she is staying before returning to Whangarei, confirmed she had pulled out of the deal but would not comment on why for legal reasons.

Ms Ross said she received formal notice from Ms Stockwell last week that she would not settle on the due date of March 31 and was withdrawing from the agreement.

Ms Ross said she was legally unable to give the reasons Ms Stockwell cited for withdrawal, because of possible litigation.

A contributing factor, she said, could have been that she and Mr Smythe had stopped Ms Stockwell's visits to the camping ground on February 1.

They had originally allowed her free access to the property to discuss issues with tenants, including a possible rent increase.

But, the couple say, she "created mayhem and misery with her demands and her treatment of tenants".

She said the community had been "fantastically supportive" through the couple's planned move from the park, assisting with packing and bringing food and presents.

Ms Ross said there had been tremendous interest in the property and sorting out a buyer had been a long, gruelling process, as was the six months spent waiting for Ms Stockwell to obtain permission from the Overseas Investment Commission to buy.

"We have found ourselves in an incredibly high-profile position because of the rocketing value of coastal properties and the debate on the loss of camping grounds, but we thought we were finally through it," she said.

Ms Stockwell said she too was disappointed that the sale did not go through. However, she still intended to make two other land purchases in Whangarei - a 100ha property at Waikaraka for $826,000 and a 2.9ha property between Riverside Drive and Punga Grove Ave for $582,000.

"I'm looking forward to coming back."

- NZPA