Councillors have signed off on a strategy to guide the future development and use of Cromwell’s endowment land, but not without raising concerns about the lack of concrete information on what the land is worth.

At Wednesday’s Central Otago District Council meeting (July 30), Cromwell councillor Nigel McKinley said it was difficult to make governance decisions without “some sort of context” about the value of the land in question.

“We just need that basic information so we know the size of what we’re talking about,” he said. 

He argued the strategy, while welcomed in principle, needed to be accompanied by a clear, itemised list of the land parcels and their projected value, particularly land earmarked for development.

Those two documents - the strategy and then the context of what the endowment land is and its potential worth - were needed together, he said, to provide “a better understanding”.

Council chief executive Peter Kelly said key documents shared with councillors approximately 18 months ago included endowment land itemised with its then-current QV values. 

However, he acknowledged those figures may now be out of date.

Council property and facilities manager Garreth Robinson said the strategy was intended as a high-level tool.

But Nigel’s comments found support from councillor Tracy Paterson, who recalled public calls for more information during district-wide funding discussions last year.

“There was a really big figure brought up at the Cromwell meeting, about the potential value,” she said.

She noted councillors still appeared to be seeking clarification on that figure.

Deputy mayor Neil Gillespie, who chaired the discussion, reminded councillors that “dollars are not a strategy”, and it was the strategy itself that would drive outcomes.

“(Dollars) are an outcome,” he said.

Ultimately, councillors agreed to add an appendix to the strategy that includes the type of land information Nigel requested.

The Cromwell Endowment Land Investment Strategy had already been endorsed by the Cromwell Community Board and was initially focused on industrial land adjacent to Bannockburn Rd.

It is broad enough, however, to be applied to other endowment land parcels over time.

The report presented to councillors by council service delivery group manager Saskia Righarts described the strategy as a tool to “enable a framework for decision making” and to “ensure transparency with the community on the approach to developing land”.

Although there are no immediate financial implications from adopting the strategy, the report acknowledged that land sales play an important role in balancing the 2025-34 Long-term Plan.

Saskia said the strategy would be reviewed more frequently than most council strategies - first after one year, then every three years to align with local body elections.

This would ensure the document was placed in front of “fresh eyes” as new councils are elected, she said.

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