Rural land for sale close to proposed new ferry terminal

Media Release
22.11.2012

Rural land for sale close to proposed new inter-island ferry terminal

A 16.6 hectare piece of land some 40 kilometres south of Blenheim and close to the site of what could be the new Cook Strait ferry terminal for the South Island has been place on the market for sale.

The property has been placed on the market for sale with Bayleys Marlborough - with offers closing on November 30. Bayleys Marlborough sales person John Hoare said the land could be developed as either a commercial pine nut and pinus radiata plantation, or for conversion into a lifestyle residential location.

With no existing residential dwelling on the land, the opportunity exists for the new owner to take on a building project with a virtual blank canvas. The property has a 2011 rateable valuation of $365,000.

“There are a variety of potential building platforms within the property which maximise some outstanding vistas down to Marfells Beach seven kilometres away, or locations with views close to several small ponds on the property.”

The property is located near Clifford Bay – a site the Government is looking at for potentially relocating the Cook Strait ferry terminal to from Picton. Building a new cross-strait ferry terminal at Clifford Bay would cost about $422 million and would cut the journey time from Wellington to Christchurch by up to 110 minutes and reduce fuel costs.

Transport Minister Gerry Brownlee said moving the terminal to the bay south of Seddon would be a major change to New Zealand's transport infrastructure and would be investigated by a specialist project team assembled by the Transport Ministry, Treasury and the NZ Transport Agency.

He said the Government was looking at the road and rail link between the North and South Islands from a national transport perspective and was interested in the long-term advantages that could be realised from having the terminal at Clifford Bay rather than Picton.

Brownlee said the ferry proposal had been discussed with groups including the Marlborough District Council, Port Marlborough, Strait Shipping, CentrePort and KiwiRail's Interislander.

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