Block could cost $2,730,000

The Harbour Cone block purchase could cost Dunedin City Council ratepayers $2,730,000 over 10 years.

While the council has still not disclosed what it will pay for the property, at its meeting this week, to settle outstanding draft annual plan issues, the council was informed that the net effect of the purchase on rates in the coming year was calculated at $246,000, with a further $276,000 estimated for each of the following nine years.

Council general manager community life Graeme Hall said the figures were the ‘‘worst case scenario''. He was unable to comment further.

The council has received almost $12,000 in donations for the purchase of the 328ha block, which it agreed to buy last month from the Atapatiki A Block Maori incorporation proprietors.

When the land went on the market last year, it had a rateable value of $2.22 million.

It is possible some funding might later be made available from the Government, something that is being pursued by Dunedin South MP and former Dunedin City councillor David Benson-Pope.

Mayor Peter Chin, who could not be reached for comment yesterday, has indicated previously that the cost of the land had to be kept secret because funding issues had to be worked through and the council did not want publicity to prejudice anything it might be doing. No settlement date has been made available.

On Monday, the council noted the financial implications associated with the purchase had been incorporated into the 2008-09 draft annual plan. Apart from outlining the estimated net effect on rates, no other details were forthcoming.

The property was also listed in the closed part of the meeting. The council has yet to make any announcement about how it is going to use the land that it bought to preserve its heritage, biodiversity and geographic values.

Save the Otago Peninsula (Stop), which was supported by the Otago Peninsula Community Board and the Otago Peninsula Trust and many individual ratepayers in its campaign for the council to buy the land, has suggested the land could be used as a farm tourism park, with protection for habitats as necessary.

Continuation of grazing on the block would help with revenue and offer protection for some small turf plants. It is keen to see the whole block, which is in 11 titles, retained by the council.