BOROUGH PROPERTY

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXVI, Issue 236, 18 September 1936, Page 6

BOROUGH PROPERTY

£75 Offered for Land Thai Cost £lOOO

TENDER NOT ACCEPTED

A piece of land at Fernhill which cost the borough of Hastings something in the vicinity of £lOOO in 1919, and which was subsequently not used for the purpose originally intended, was recently offered for •ale by public tender. There was but one offer, and that for £75. Last night the council deferred) acceptance of the offer to enable an investigation of the lime deposits on the property to be made.

..The area concerned is a 10-acre block at Fernhill, and the Mayor, Mr G. A. Maddison, explained that it was purchased in 1919 with the idea of developing it as a quarry to provide limestone for road formation in the borough. There was prolonged Supreme Court litigation concerning the transaction, and eventually it became borough property, but the cost was in the vicinity of £lOOO. Later it was found that the limestone could be obtained more cheaply from a Napier firm than from this section, and during recent years it had been leased at a rental of £6 a year. There was a possibility that in the near future the council would be called upon to pay half the cost of fencing the area, and this would mean an expenditure of from £2O to £4O. “Only four acres would be of any use for afforestation,’’ he said. Or. 8. Ashcroft mentioned the possible further development of superphosphate in Hawke’s Bay and suggested that there was a possibilty of the Hme deposits on the area concerned being of some commercial value in the future. •‘As I see the position at the moment, it would make very little difference to ■s if we held on to the block in case it might be of some value,’’ he said. “I am not altogether In favour of letting an asset that cost ns £lOOO go for a mere matter of £75, especially when we •re getting £6 a year rental at present at any rate.” “We have been trying to sell it privately for a number of years,” said the Mayor.

Cr. G. W. McCormick: Oh, get rid of it. We might as well invest the money in an art union as hang on to it in the hope of some return. “We eould at least -fer decision now and have an analysis made of the lime to ascertain its commercial properties,” said the Mayor. This suggestion was adopted. The meeting also considered the ten der of £126 from Mr A. L. Baker for another property, an area of 1 rd. 4.1 perenes, situated at the corner of Nelson and Williams streets, and which was offered at the same time by public tender. This was the only offer made, and it was accepted.

The Mayor pointed out that it was purchased by the borough with the intention of establishing a pumping station on it for the borough sewerage, but in view of the present scheme, which would shortly be put into operation, the section was no longer required.