Billionaire’s golf tourism vision for Mangawhai

This story was originally published on Newsroom.co.nz and was republished with permission.

Build it and they will come. An American billionaire’s plan to build more golf courses in Mangawhai to attract tourists rolls despite the closure of borders. Farah Hancock reports.

A city north of Auckland, which is home to around 10,000 residents, will have four golf courses.

There are two: one exists since the 1970s – a local course with green fees ranging from $ 85 for overseas visitors to $ 35 for those under the age of 18 – and the second is the exclusive golf course for just members Tara Iti.

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Tara Iti was built by the American billionaire Ric Kayne and does not advertise subscription costs. Now Kayne plans to build two more link-style courses, but these will be open to the public.

Brad Grimmer, general manager of the existing Mangawhai Golf Club audience, personally supports the new development, saying he would like the area to become “Queenstown, a” golf destination “that would attract tourists.”

Kayne’s request to acquire 169 hectares of land for two other 18-hole public golf courses on the coast has now been approved by the Overseas Investment Office (OIO).

The transaction value is listed by the OIO as $ 3.49 million. Most of the land will be rented and 25 hectares will be purchased.

The land is currently covered by a pine forest, which was planted to control the sand dunes. These will be torn down as part of the development, with golf greens and native plantations established in their place. Two public paths leading to the shore will be built, together with visitors’ accommodation and at least one club house.

The OIO approval for the offshore purchase was based on the development of the courses that brought benefits to New Zealand. The development of the billionaire is seen as an advancement of the tourism strategy of the New Zealand-Aotearoa government. Development is expected to bring $ 6 million in export revenue by 2022, despite Covid-19 meaning that international tourism is likely to remain low.

A development spokesman said the plans were on track, despite the uncertainty caused by the closure of borders: “Although Covid-19’s current impacts on New Zealand’s tourism sector are difficult to predict, it is hoped that they will be mitigated when the courses will be completed and ready to open. “

The Tara Iti course is currently ranked the second best course in the world outside the United States.

“The expectation is that these courses will have a similar caliber, which means that the Auckland region will become one of the most coveted golf destinations in the world, similar to places like Monterey in California.”

A lot of strings attached

Approval for the purchase involves a number of special conditions from the OIO that must be met.

These include an obligation to spend $ 25 million on course development and create the equivalent of at least 38 full-time jobs by 2025.

If this does not happen, the OIO can force the sale of the land.

Other special conditions described in the OIO approval include:

• Resource consent must be obtained by February 2023

• Golf courses, a clubhouse and visitor accommodation are to be developed by February 2025

• Tom Doak and Coore Crenshaw, or golf course designers of a similar caliber, must design one of two courses

• Ric Kayne, his wife Suzanne and others with financial interests related to their company and trust are not allowed to reside in the area

• Employ a full-time retention ranger by 2012

• Start planting endangered and endangered plant species on earth from February 2022

• Create two pedestrian walkways to allow the public to access the beach

• Meet Heritage New Zealand to discuss whether a protective pact might be appropriate by February 2022

• Implementation of a site management plan to improve the restoration of sand dunes, wetlands, shrubs and other indigenous habitats

• Special rules regarding a consent on water limit the amount taken and the date taken

Past issues and a brief overview of consents

Kayne’s first development caused frustration for environmentalists and locals alike.

The proposed relocation of a beach parking lot used by the premises 300 meters from the beach and behind the houses built by the developers caused problems. Then there is the fence in front of a house under construction for Kayne that feeds on a Conservation Department reserve – at least twice, people on public conservation grounds have been told they are transgressing.

A dam built by the golf development company on public land on the Te Arai stream has also controversially blocked the passage of fish, a serious problem for less than 40 New Zealand terns, which use the mouth as a nesting habitat and supply.

A local conservation group brought the matter to court to remove the dam and a case was brought against the Auckland Council, which had given retrospective approval for the dam. The developers eventually removed the dam a few weeks ago.

During the environmental court hearing on the dam, Judge Jeff Smith said he had previously sat on other cases related to the Tara Iti golf course and was aware of the context of the numerous consents for which the course developers they requested. Many of these were not notified, which means that the public had no say.

“We made some relatively concise comments about how it had been cut into small pieces to get consensus without notification.”

For this development, a key consensus concerns the water needed to establish vegetables.

The special conditions of the OIO consent include the rules on acquiring water from the Poutawa stream. This flow is listed in a Department of Conservation discussion paper on white bait management.

The conditions of the OIO indicate that the request for consent of the resources to withdraw water from the stream states that it is not possible to withdraw water in December, January and February when the forage fairy in the estuary and in the months in which it can be taken, no more than 10% taken at any time.

A copy of the water consent application must be provided to the OIO within six weeks of submitting the application. Other waters will come from groundwater, which will be diverted from Lake Tomarata.

A member of the Te Arai Beach Preservation Society, Mike Harris, said he was personally in favor of the proposed development, but felt that a “short observation period” was to ensure that promises were kept.

“In my opinion, golf courses are among the most favorable land uses in this area. For one, they act as a buffer for pests between farmland and parks. Of course, water is a real concern, so we should take action to ensure that water rights do not come at the expense of the environment. “

The company has not yet teamed up to formally discuss the development as there has not yet been any communication from the developers or the Auckland Council regarding the consensus.

Local farmer Margaret Fishlock hopes that all plans for water consensus will be made clear.

“We have a water bore for our warehouse, and we certainly wouldn’t want that to be affected.”

He said previous consents of resources for the Tara Iti golf course had not been notified.

“They have just been distributed by the Auckland Council. How can the public have a say? “

This story was originally published on Newsroom.co.nz and was republished with permission.