Tenure Reviews Making Progress
Tenure reviews of South Island High Country pastoral leases have made considerable progress in the past six months.
Mathew Clark, Manager of LINZ's Christchurch-based Pastoral Unit, said nine substantive or final proposals had been put to lessees over the last six months and a tenth was due to be put to a leaseholder in June.
Mathew said the recently agreed deals have secured public access and a wide range of conservation values and recreational opportunities, and allowed for diversified activity on land that is to be freeholded.
Notable agreements reached in Canterbury included reviews of the Mt Cook, Mesopotamia, Mt Potts and Redcliffe leases.
The review of the 2463 hectare Mt Cook Station pastoral lease, at the head of Lake Pukaki, resulted in 1612 hectares or 65 percent of the property becoming public conservation land next to Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park. Newly protected land on the lower slopes of the Burnett Mountains could be a potential future addition to Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park.
Of Mesopotamia's 26,140 hectares located in the upper Rangitata Valley, 20,888 hectares are destined to become public conservation land. A further 5252 hectares of productive developed river flats and rolling country will be freeholded to the leaseholder, subject to covenants over 1487 hectares to protect biodiversity.
Mt Potts, across the valley from Mesopotamia Station, was made internationally famous by the Lord of the Rings as the setting for Edoras. This review resulted in 8670 hectares becoming public conservation land, and 1022 hectares being freeholded.
Conservation land from Mt Potts and the Redcliffe's reviews is being added to the Hakatere Conservation Park which opened last year. The Redcliffe agreement contributes 7809 hectares to public conservation land, and 1383 hectares is to be freeholded.
Notable agreements in Central Otago include the Kyeburn and Home Hills reviews, with conservation land earmarked for inclusion in the proposed Oteake Conservation Park.
Overall, of the 303 pastoral leases eligible for tenure review under the Crown Pastoral Land Act 1998, agreements have been reached for 65 reviews to date.
This has resulted in approximately 175,000 hectares or 48 percent of reviewable land being transferred to Department of Conservation, and approximately 190,000 hectares (52 percent) being freeholded to lessees.
Ninety-six leases are in the earlier stages of the review process from information gathering through to the development of substantive proposals. Public submissions on the preliminary proposal for the Allandale/Greenvale pastoral leases are currently being analysed and three further preliminary proposals are expected to be advertised shortly.
Mathew said 20 of 38 lakeside properties that were withdrawn from tenure review last year are now back in the process. The lessees of these properties had agreed to meet conditions outlined by the Government last year, including lakeside land being retained by the Crown, or the lessee accepting restrictions on the land's future use and development.
Find out more about pastoral land / tenure review.
