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In A $1.9 million deal, the Queenstown Lakes District Council has bought the three historic Arrowtown cottages at the centre of a bitter row.
A day after Irish property developer Eamon Cleary was accused of destroying the cottages by "wilful neglect", the council said it had stepped in to save them and would hand them over to a trust.
The news sparked celebrations in Arrowtown, where campaigners have battled to save the deteriorating former goldminers' homes which date from the 1870s.
The council said it had bought a 2000sq m bundle of titles that included the three Buckingham St cottages, the large sections of land they sit on, and a fourth building at 6 Merionth St.
Council chief executive Duncan Field said the deal was brokered by property developer John Martin , of Lake Hayes, who bought the properties from Mr Cleary before selling them to the council.
Negotiations were kept under wraps even while an extraordinary full council meeting was held on Thursday to discuss other ways of protecting the cottages.
Among those celebrating yesterday were John Currie, who was threatened with legal action by Mr Cleary's agents after repairing some of the worst damage to the cottages without permission, and Robyn Handtschoewercker, a cottage tenant served with an eviction notice by Mr Cleary's agents after speaking out about the state of the cottages.
Mr Field said yesterday it was not yet known if Mr Cleary, now overseas, was even aware the properties had been passed straight to council ownership by Mr Martin.
"All credit to John Martin. He takes nothing from this purchase other than the satisfaction that the cottages will be preserved," he said.
Mr Martin said his intervention was just "part of looking after the community".
"I have always been passionate about historic buildings ... I strongly believe they do form part of the fabric of any community and they do need to be looked after.
- OTAGO DAILY TIMES
