Young Trustees Seek Finality

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30759, 25 May 1965, Page 9

Young Trustees Seek Finality

The Cashmere residents’ committee which hoped to get the Young Estate land below Cashmere road as a public reserve had had a verbal option to buy for just on a year, and he thought that some finality should be reached, said Mr R. A. Young, one of the trustees.

The Heathcote County Council, at its meeting last week, did not agree to a proposal that it increase its proposed contribution from £4OOO to £6OOO to match £4OOO which is said to be available from Golden Kiwi lottery profits, and £2OOO from residents, to make up the purchase price of £12.000.

Mr Young, his brother and sister are trustees of the estate, that of Mrs Ruth Young, widow of Mr H. A. Young, for many years a stipendiary magistrate. Mr Young said that the trustees were concerned at the delay. Vandals had smashed every back window in the old house, had removed the lock from the back door, the water cylinder bad been stolen, and other damage done.

The property as a whole was an eyesore. He said that the trustees had had more than 50 offers for building sections on the land, which could be divided into seven building sites.

“For sentimental and other reasons, the trustees gave the residents’ committee a verbal option to buy at £12,000,” said Mr Young. “This was a year ago. In the meantime, the estate has paid rates and insurance on the property, and the recent acts of vandalism have caused us to consider pulling the house down. “We feel that development of the area is being held up. The council is being deprived of rates in the absence of development, and the completion of the administration of the estate is being held up. We don’t want to cause embarrassment, but feel we should have something definite.”

Mr H. N. Pyne, spokesman for the residents’ committee, could not be reached yesterday, as he is visiting the West Coast on business, but another member of the five-man committee, Mr J. B. Ferguson, said that there had not been a meeting of the committee since the council meeting. To a suggestion that the Cashmere Bowling Club was interested in acquiring extra room on the Young land, Mr Ferguson, an official of the club, said that this was so, but only on a long-term basis,

because the club now was trying to pay off the debt on its new £12,000 pavilion. “We had hoped that the council would take the long view, and looked at future needs in the area,” he said. “It looks as though the council has not taken this into consideration.” Mr Ferguson added that only two of the five committee members had been present to meet the county chairman (Mr C. D. LeComte) last week.