By Michael Morrah
The Department of Conservation has bought a sandspit in Ngunguru, east of Whangarei – a move ending decades of protest over its planned development.
The company that wanted to build there struck a deal with the Crown but is now planning to develop another sought-after spot.
There were songs of celebration and even tears as locals were told the Ngunguru sandspit would remain in their hands.
The struggle over this stretch of sandy coast has been raging for almost half a century. There have been ownership changes and many protests over plans to sub-divide the 80 hectares of land into hundreds of sections.
Just weeks out from an election, it was a ideal chance for government ministers to scramble to the top of the dunes to talk about it.
Todd Property Group Ltd sold the spit to DoC for an undisclosed sum.
As part of the deal, the company went south and bought the site of the old Napier Hospital, which has been languishing unused since 1997.
The company's managing director said the site would be predominantly for residential purposes but would not elaborate further.
Part of the sale proceeds will help build a new $20 million mental health unit at Hastings.
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