Potentially surplus reserves identified in parks strategy - 26/06/2007Wanganui District Council has identified a number of reserves and open spaces that may be considered for disposal.
The reserves are listed in the Draft Parks and Open Spaces Strategy which will be available for public consultation soon.
Community Development Committee chair Cr Nicki Higgie says the Council has identified two types of potentially surplus open spaces.
"The first group includes sites that are not used for recreation and are surplus to Council purposes," Cr Higgie said.
"These are sites that are leased for grazing and sited in suburbs that already have adequate space for recreation and open space areas. It also covers properties such as the Gonville swimming pool where the facility is now redundant.
"The second category covers open spaces where the site should be either better developed for the public or sold off. The Parks and Open Spaces Strategy will help us decide which option should be followed."
Before any decision is made to sell a reserve, public meetings will be held with people in the area and then a report will be made to the Council on the issues and recommending a course of action. If the Council decides to dispose of a reserve, the normal public consultation processes required by the Resource Management Act will be followed.
"Any sale process will use the method that will maximise the value to the community," Cr Higgie said.
"In some cases, that will mean obtaining the best price but in other cases it could be a mix of the optimum price and the type of development that is best suited to the location. We expect that our Property team will work with real estate agents on any sale process.
"The aim of disposing of surplus open spaces is to free up capital tied up in the ownership of an underutilised asset and use it for new recreational assets that the community wants."
The Draft Parks and Open Spaces Strategy is expected to be available for public comment within the next few weeks. | 
