Linklater Block

I returned to work yesterday after some of the most miserable weeks I have experienced. Chicken pox is no fun and given how long I was ill, I am inclined to revise my earlier opinion that it is not worse for an adult. I still have no energy and a few healing spots, but I was very anxious to get back to work.

Last night’s council meeting saw a lot of debate over the future of the Linklater Block. In December last year, councillors decided to develop 5.5 hectares, sell 4ha fronting Roberts Line to pay for the development, and landbank the remainder for future recreation use. A land developer, meanwhile, approached council with the suggestion that he buy a 6ha block of land adjoining an area that is in the process of being rezoned as industrial land. All such approaches have to come to council for consideration and some councillors took this opportunity to, once again, bring forth their proposals for selling the Linklater Block.

Seven members of the public made deputations to the Environmental and Planning Well-Being Committee and debate raged until the dinner break. I moved recommendations that would keep the status quo as we had agreed last year, and confirmed following consultation over the LTCCP. I was prepared to sell the 4ha block on Roberts Line in order to get the 5.5ha park developed. This park is very much needed in the northern corner of our city and being precious about holding onto a small parcel of land would only have delayed the creation of a park. After the sale, we will still have 25.9 hectares for recreational use. The land has sat there for eleven years with no funding to develop a park - now, we can have one.

There was much debate over whether the Linklater Block is needed for recreation in the city. Some argued that our current recreation needs analysis shows it is superfluous to requirements. That study is right - it is. However, my position is based on having vision. Our city forefathers did not need the parks they set up. Over a hundred years ago, the small population in Palmerston North didn’t need the Esplanade. If they had not had the wisdom to set land aside for passive and active recreation, Palmerston North would not have the benefits today. Once land has been sold into private hands it is lost forever. The Linklater Block is not the greatest block of land in the best location, but it is the only large block left that we can develop for recreation. As the city grows and the years pass, the value of this asset will become more apparent.

Listening to the debate last night, I couldn’t help thinking of that oft-used phrase, “selling the family’s silver”. If the Linklater Block is the silver teaset that just sits on a sideboard and gets dusted once in awhile, it’s still worth retaining. A majority of councillors agreed with my recommendation and last night the vote was to retain the status quo as it is printed in the LTCCP, with one change - the description in the LTCCP has been tightened up to ensure that future councils understand that the land is being kept for future recreational use. As far as this council is concerned, the Linklater Block is not for sale.