Discuss Value Of Otaika Rd Property

Northern Advocate, 7 June 1947, Page 4

Discuss Value Of Otaika Rd Property

Whether or not a three and a half acre property on the Otaika Road was subject to flooding was debated before the Land Sales Committee in Whangarei yesterday. The price asked for this property was £7OO and the private valuation by Mr A. Curtis was £750. For the Crown, Mr A. M. Farrell valued the property at £385.

In evidence, Mr Curtis told the committee that he had valued the land for cutting up into sections, which he estimated would sell readily at between £IOO and £l2O each. The land was good alluvial soil, lending itself to easy cultivation. He understood that the purchaser wished to establish an apiary on it and he thought that it would be ideal for this purpose. Cross-examined by the Crown representative (Mr L. A. Amodeo), Mr Curtis stated that sections on the other side of Otaika Road, immediately opposite, had sold recently for £IOO and there was a ready sale for lafid in this area. , INCREASING DEMAND

The property now for sale was not particularly low-lying nor subject to much flooding. Mr Curtis admitted that a small portion near a bridge was more liable to flood than other parts. He said there was an increasing demand for sections in the Otaika locality; indeed, in any locality in or near Whangarei. “The land is low-lying and subject to heavy intermittent flooding,” stated Mr Farrell in evidence. He considered that there was better land available in the vicinity.

He had valued the land as a small farmlet, or market garden, as he had not • considered it suitable for subdivision. He estimated that half the frontage nearest the bridge would flood easily. Questioned by the vendor’s counsel (Mr D. J. Thomson), Mr Farrell said he had last seen the land heavily flooded in 1936 or 1937, and that a new road and bridge that were being contemplated would increase the land's value. j The committee reserved its decision until it had made an inspection.