Don't sell Government land in central Christchurch, urges party

Land in the Eastern and Southern Frames in Christchurch should not be sold to developers but should be leasehold and leases auctioned off to the highest bidder, according to the New Economics Party.

Spokesperson Deirdre Kent said it was ridiculous that any land there should now go back into private hands to gain from all the building and infrastructure investment still to come. No companies or individuals should be getting these windfall gains.

She said they believed the land rental should be shared with the Christchurch City Council and that it would bring ongoing revenue, just as the leasehold land in Auckland brings revenue.

“Since the future development will be paid for by central and local government and by other businesses in the CBD the uplift in land values should be retained by the public. Fletchers – or anyone else – should not get a free lunch from other people’s efforts. Their profit and reward for risk will get quite enough from building the units and selling them as leasehold properties. They should not be building for capital gain.”

She said they would be writing to the CCDU to argue the case for keeping the precious land in public ownership.

ENDS

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