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More than three years after the High Court ruled the Kapiti Coast District Council had to offer surplus land back to descendants of its original Maori owners, the council has sold a 5.11 hectare block in central Paraparaumu to the Ngahina Trust for $2.4 million.
The land, which was taken under the Public Works Act, was identified as surplus when the council decided it would sell land to pay for the new Coastlands Aquatic Centre.
The block has been used to graze cattle, with a small section of it designated for future stormwater management and storage.
Council chief chief executive Pat Dougherty says the land was valued from $700,000 to $4.4 million, depending on the date the valuation was taken from.
The final negotiated figure represented something that gave value to ratepayers while being fair for the trust.
Ngahina Trust chairperson Kura Marie Taylor says the return to the land through purchase recognises the significant spiritual, cultural and land connections of the many generations of Ngahina Trust families woven into the Paraparaumu community.
Copyright © 2013, UMA Broadcasting Ltd
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