In a close seven to six vote, councillors at the council’s community and regulatory committee passed the recommendation to start the process of releasing 0.272ha of Donovan Park, where Crafty’s Restaurant is sited, to private ownership at its Tuesday meeting.
A report prepared by council senior open spaces planner Cassandra Horton was tabled at the meeting.
In the report Ms Horton said the grounds were once the Donovan family residence, restored in the early 1980s and since then had been leased as a restaurant.
The tenant, Glengrae Parks Limited who owned the restaurant, requested the reserve status be revoked so the company may buy the land.
During the discussion, councillor Darren Ludlow asked if any other council reserve land had its status revoked so commercial tenants could buy the land.
Ms Horton said the Beach Road Holiday Park and the Cabbage Tree restaurant were two of the last examples.
Mayor Tom Campbell said his concern was how much it would cost the council to revoke the status of the land.
There was also the potential loss of income due to the lease coming to an end.
Mr Campbell hoped the tenant had a “compelling” reason to buy the land rather than wanting to own it.
If they just “like the idea” he hoped the council would come out better off than just breaking even.
Council parks and recreation manager Caroline Rain said the tenant expressed a wish to buy the property for commercial reasons.
This was the first step in the process and the council would make a final decision down the track, she said.
Cr Marcus Lush said he could not see any reason for the tenant to own the land unless he was considering selling the business.
Council community spaces and places group manager Rex Capil said, from discussions he had with the tenant, owning the land made the business more viable to sell.
Once the property was freehold it would become a rateable property that would bring in income for the council, he said.
Cr Steve Broad said the situation was an opportunity to turn a “special site into something that works both for the business community, the market and for council”.
