LAND SALES COMMITTEE

Greymouth Evening Star, 21 July 1945, Page 4

LAND SALES COMMITTEE

SITTING AT GREYMOUTH When the sitting of the Westland Land Sales Committee (Messrs M. Wallace, J. Muicare and J. W. Greenslade) resumed at Greymouth yesterday afternoon, further evidence on behalf of the Crown, represented by the Commissioner of Crown Lands, Mr N. Clay, was placed before the committee in connection with the application by E. Rosewall. (Mr C. R. McGinley) for permission to sell to W. A. anh A. S. Wright his shop in Tainui Street, Greymouth, at a price of £2,750. During his evidence, Ashley Warnes, valuer, gave his valuation ol the property as £1,697 —building £682 and land £1,015, and he was cross-examined at length on the respective merits of sites in Mackay and Tainui Streets, giving as his „choice for a business section one in Mackay Street. The committee reserved its decision until Monday. I J. F. C. Moore and K. V. Moore 'sought permission to sell to C. J. i Strongman pt. lots 2 and 3, D.P. 102, ' corner of Buccleugh and Palmerston ; Streets, Grevmouth, the price being I £ 165.

Mr. C. R. McGinley for the vendors said that his clients had consented to a reduction in price to £163 and would also pay the survey costs of £l2/10/-. The purchaser objected to the price which he declared was too high, and , pointed out that the garage and fowlhouse on the property, which was ol 13 perches, had been valued at £4O but were to be removed and should have been valued lor removal purposes, though he admitted this had not been set down in the agreement signed by him. M. J. Devlin also gave evidence stating that £125 for the section was exceptionally high. Giving evidence for the vendor/ G. F. Shallcrass, land agent and. valuer, said he had been called upon by Mrs Moore- to value her section, which she wished to sell. He ad-1 vised her to sell half of the section,] her neighbour being desirous of pur- ■ chasing a strip of _ land running, parallel wiih his section. The price' of £165. was accepted without argu-' ment. He valued the garage on the: half-section at £25, the fowlhouse i £.ll and fences £4, giving a total: value with the land at £125, ol £165. He thought the value of £125 for the land was conservative. Called by the purchaser, Henry Hutchinson, surveyor and engineer, said he thought the net value of the entire section was £2OO. The halfsection could not be sold to any other than Mr Strongman, and that would lessen its value. The'fowlhouse, he thought, should be removed lor health reasons, and had no value at all. The value of the garage was the value of the recoverable secondhand iron. The woodwork was worm-eaten and the windows patched and broken. He valued the. iron d 'After the committee had considered the matter, the chairman _ announced that the weight of evidence sustained the vendor’s contention that the property was worth £163. ine committee believed that the section had a special value to the purchaser and had to accept that conclusion The committee also had to treat the buildings on the section as at utility value and not as for removal or demolition purposes. The committee agreed with the section’s value of £125 only because of its special value to the .purchaser. The sale would be allowed subject to a ■ reduction in price to £163, the vendor to pay the costs of the survey. The sale of Lot 1, D.P. 959, Pt. Sec. 9. Block 2, Cobden by J. J. Queen to J. Clyne at a price of £460 was approved.