February 15, 2016
Taranaki Whanui members cling to dud development
Port Nicholson Block Settlement Trust is looking for plan B after it failed to get the votes needed to sell the former air force base at Shelly Bay.
The trust needed 75 percent support to go ahead with the sale, but only secured a narrow majority from the 26 percent of registered beneficiaries who voted.
It faced stiff opposition led by some of the original trustees who okayed the $15 million purchase of the Wellington harbourside property, but saw it turn into a white elephant when the initial development plans fell through six years ago.
Board chair Neville Baker says efforts to explain the necessity for the sale to developer Ian Cassells were hampered by a long-running Serious Fraud Office investigation, which means key information is subject to suppression orders.
He says the board has developed a robust financial strategy for the future of the trust, whatever the outcome of the vote.
The vote may delay immediate action on Shelly Bay, but the trust is keen to maintain the site’s special housing area designation that will allow more intense development.
Copyright © 2016, UMA Broadcasting Ltd: www.waateanews.com