Pakiri: Shifting sands

A farmer and part-time developer talks to Graham Hepburn about battling through some unrelated bad publicity.

Pakiri Tablelands Pakiri has the sort of untamed beauty that you would think people would be falling over themselves to grab a slice of. But think again.

Buyers are scarce because the area has had so much negative publicity: developer Kim Spencer was kidnapped and assaulted while showing a beachfront development site to a potential buyer, sand dredging offshore has been a controversial issue, the legal wrangle over boxer David Tua's assets has centred on Pakiri land, and there has been simmering resentment about beach access over Maori land.

It's not been an easy time for local farmer Alexander Longuet-Higgins, who has been trying to get his Pakiri Tablelands development off the ground for the past year. In that time, only one of the 14 lots has sold.

"We've had a very frustrating time with a lot of bad publicity for Pakiri which has created doubt in the marketplace," Alexander says. "If you talk to people in Auckland they'll travel a lot further afield and seem to go past where we are just because of all the negative things they've heard about Pakiri."

Alexander says Pakiri Tablelands - up a 1km right-of-way off Pakiri Rd - has been carved out of the 1000ha Millbrook Station, which his family has owned and farmed for about 50 years. He says the sections sit on a plateau about 220m above sea level with views out to the Hen and Chickens and Great Barrier islands.

The development has 25ha of regenerating bush, with walking tracks, spread across the site, which owners share as common land. Natives have been planted between the building sites to provide privacy and a continuation of the bush.

Alexander says two lots are being put up for auction: Lot 4, which sits on a gentle, north-facing slope overlooking bush, and Lot 12, a relatively flat site which looks down Pakiri valley, over the river mouth and down to the sea. All the lots are grassed and can be mown.

Alexander says Pakiri Beach is a short drive away: "In less than 10 minutes you'd have your feet wet."

He says as residents with a history in the area, his family has put a lot of effort into getting Pakiri Tablelands right.

"What we're trying to do is a quality development," he says. "We've gone about our business in a quiet and discreet way and we've got the general support of the community.

"Farming is my love rather than property development. We've only undertaken it to meet the needs of the family shareholders in the farm or to help the farm."

And Alexander says development has been good for small communities like Pakiri.

"These developments are helping maintain the communities in the days when farms don't need so many labourers. The lifestylers who come out here are helping rebalance the urban drift to the city."

Vital Statistics

SECTION SIZES: Lot 4: 1.15ha; Lot 12: 0.76ha.

PRICE INDICATIONS: Lot 4: QV $195,000; Lot 12: QV $430,000. Auction August 20.

INSPECT: By appointment.

CONTACT: Jeneen Binsted ph 0275 367 107 mob, Margaret Olsen 0274 787 132 mob, Mike Scott 021 463 224 mob, Harcourts Warkworth.

FEATURES: Elevated building sites in bush setting. Concrete roading, power and telephone underground. Protected by landscaping and building covenants. Share of common land, which is 25ha of regenerating bush with a natural spring.