O’Farrell land for auction

Press, 7 July 1977, Page 1

O’Farrell land for auction

Fifty-nine acres of land near Governor’s Bay which formerly belonged to Mr G. P. O’Farrell will be offered for sale by auction next month on behalf of the Official Assignee (Mr I. A. Hansen). The mortgagee sale will be held at the rooms of Ford and Hadfield, Ltd, on August 17. The auctioneer will be Mr P. T. Battersby.

Title for the land, which has a Government valuation of $34,000 and improvements (mainly fencing) of $lOOO, was held by Mr O’Farrell three years ago. The title is now held by the Official Assignee.

Solicitors for the mortgagee are Messrs Saunders, Beadel, and Company. The land to be auctioned stretches from the Summit Road to Lyttelton Harbour and is situated between Governor's Bay and Lyttelton. According to the description offered • by the land agents, the property is very hilly, virtually bare, and

typical of land in other parts of the Port Hills.

Its most likely use. according to the auctioneer, is for farming.

Mr O’Farrell was adjudged bankrupt on August 22, 1975. During the bankruptcy proceedings, Mr O’Farrell said that, should any of his 2000 acres of land be rezoned from rural to residential, he could sell it for housing and meet his debts of $250,000.

In February last year a three-day appeal hearing before the No. 2 Town and Country Planning Appeal Board heard arguments for such a scheme.

The board finally decided to allow rezoning for residential development on 170 of the 2000 acres previously owned by Mr O’Farrell.

The new zoning allowed for about 300 houses to be built on the property. However, the decision by the board was only an interim one, to allow a draft zone to be prepared for the consideration of the board. The decision was also subject to appeal.