What New Policy On Greymouth Leasehold Really Means To Town

Greymouth Evening Star, 11 July 1947, Page 7

What New Policy On Greymouth Leasehold Really Means To Town

Bewilderment, apathy and annoyance appear to be the dominant public reactions to the prolonged legal arguments concerning the application of the Land Sales Act to Greymouth leasehold properties. Inquiries by the Evening Sta’r indicate that the general public has become befogged by the mass of legal phraseology arising from the recent appeal case and the subsequent statement of policy by the Westland Land Sales Committee.

Some residents have made a genuine attempt to keep themselves informed on this highly important and controversial issue; many others, principally owners of freehold or not property owners at all, are apathetic whether values go down with a crash or not. Among the relatively small proportion who understand the implications of the Crown contentions regarding Greymouth leaseholds, the paramount feelings are of annoyance at the unexpected and unannounced use of the Land Sales Act to depress property values below the prices ruling before the Act was thought of, and of gratitude to the members of the Land Sales Committee in their attempts to recognise the justice of the lessees’ case while, at the same time, interpreting the spirit of the Act.

From the time when it was announced that the Crown would attempt, by means of an appeal to the Land Sales Court, to upset the decisions of the Westland Land Sales Committee, many extraneous issues have been dragged into the discussions, some political. These have merely served to confuse the public still more and throughout there has been a lack of understanding of the principles involved. From a legal point of view, the relative decisions have been adequately publicised, but the layman still does not know exactly what is involved in the matter. For this reason, the Evening Star today sought from an authoritive source a simple explanation of the situation to date. Crown’s Contention Summed up, this explanation is that the Crown decided that the prices being obtained for leasehold properties at Greymouth (the whole of the business area is Native leasehold and considerable area of the residential portion is leasehold of different types) was too high, and failed to take into account the owners’ interests in the land. By its decisions, the Westland Land Sales Committee expressed the opinion that the prices obtaining were not too high, but the Crown sought to uphold its contention by an appeal to a higher tribunal. This tribunal, the Land Sales Court, heard a mass of evidence at Greymouth and in a similar massive decision laid down legal principles, much in accordance with the Crown’s argument that leasehold values at Greymouth must be brought down.

Lease With Six Years to Run

Committee's Attitude After full consideration of the court’s decision, the Land Sales .Committee this week enunciated the principles which it intends to follow.

These, in effect, are a compromise between the committee’s original attitude and the Crown’s contention. In other words, the permitted sale prices of Greymouth leaseholds will in future be considerably reduced, but will still be much higher than

the Crown contends should be the case.

In order to illustrate in the simplest possible way the implica-g tions of the • issues involved, the Evening Star .had the following typical examples worked out. They show the reductions which have taken place in the prices of sections and the marked drop which would occur if the Crown's contentions were accepted in full:—

In each of the above cases, the original price quoted has been the “market” value without further evidence of freehold values. The statement of the Committee, however, has left the door open for vendors to adduce evidence as to freehold values. ♦

, At the moment, the position is, as illustrated by the above examples, that the committee has determined that it will make a reduction on past prices, but not nearly to the extent desired by the Crown. Whether the Crown is prepared to abide by this decision, or whether it will again attempt to force the issue by a further appeal to a higher tribunal, remains to be seen.

Former Crown’s Committee’s Sale Price Contention New Value .£425 £69 £310 Lease With Six Years to Run £150 £32 £134 Lease With Three Years to Run £100 £2 £50. Business Site, Lease 20 Years to Run £ 6400 £3000 £5300