May 16, 2018
localmatters.co.nz
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What’s inside Big win for Rodney transport page 3
Light fantastic
Waka or not? page 11
Child’s play feature pages 27-31 Farmer Greg McCracken with son Kristian. Mr McCracken wanted to leave his farm to his children but he has no idea if it has a future.
localmatters.co.nz
Motorway uncertainty infuriates landowners in limbo A government failure to commit to the proposed Warkworth to Wellsford Road of National Significance (RoNS) has left scores of property owners sitting on heavily devalued land that they can neither sell nor develop. Initially, the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) was engaged in purchasing programme to acquire properties along the indicative
route of the RoNS. But property owners who indicated they wished to sell early say negotiations with the NZTA have stalled since the Labour-led government indicated its priorities had shifted away from RoNS toward light rail, urban cycleways and safety improvements on existing roads. Property owners say they face the worst of all possible worlds. Selling on
the open market right now will realise only a fraction of the land’s value, since any new owner will still face the uncertainty of whether the RoNS will ultimately be completed by this or a future government. Dairy farmer Greg McCracken, whose Te Hana farm could be divided by the indicative route, says while selling is not an option, neither is investing
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further in affected properties. “Most business and farm owners are intent on investing in their business, either to sell at a good price or pass on to their children. But it’s pointless investing in my farm if I am going to end up losing it anyway to make way for a new road,” he says. Mr McCracken says the uncertainty continued page 6
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