NEWS RELEASE
7 March 2017

Wellington acquires Forest of Tane

Wellington City Council has acquired the Forest of Tane in Tawa and the land will be added to Wellington’s Outer Town belt and used for recreation and green space.

“I am incredibly pleased that the Council has been able to acquire this land for the people of Wellington,” says the Council’s Natural Environment Portfolio Leader, Councillor Peter Gilberd.

“This is a landmark acquisition and the vendor was very happy to see this go into public ownership.

“I think of other fantastic green spaces in our city – Khandallah Park, Makara Peak and our Town Belt, for example – and how glad I am that previous councils had the foresight to preserve and retain that land. That is what we are doing now.

“This is part of building an Outer Town Belt of protected green space that stretches from the south coast to Kapiti Island. Our parks and reserves add much to our city and this will be a fine addition.

"Public ownership will also help ensure that the native forest remains. This will mean we can remove many non-native trees and plant new native trees in their place.

“Protecting the natural environment will benefit the wellbeing of the wider community. This will also allow us to make progress on our goal of a Predator Free Wellington.”

Northern Ward Councillor Jill Day says the decision to acquire the land followed a strong push from the community.

“This is something the community was very passionate about and I’m so glad we were able to acquire the land. Over 200 people packed out a public meeting recently on these issues and we had many more letters and emails. We’ve listened and we’ve got a great result with the overwhelming support of councillors.”

Northern Ward Councillor Malcolm Sparrow is excited about the recreational opportunities with the substantial linkage along the western hills of Tawa.

“We can develop a two-hour walking loop and other tracks for people to enjoy - finally getting Tawa onto the map of Wellington walks - and we may even be able to create a dedicated mountain biking track. There's so much potential now that the land will be owned by the wider community.”

More details on the sale will be made available in early April once the process has been fully concluded with the vendor.

ENDS

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