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US billionaire Ric Kayne is a step closer to developing two more 18-hole golf courses south of Mangawhai.
Mr Kayne has been granted Overseas Investment Office (OIO) consent to acquire 169 hectares of sensitive land at Te Arai South for almost $3.5million.
The deal includes Ric and Suzanne Kayne’s Te Arai Links company taking a leasehold interest in 143.8 hectares and a freehold stake in 25.2 hectares of the 750-hectare Te Arai South Precinct, which was bought by Ngati Manuhiri as part of its treaty settlement. Most of that land is being retained by the iwi, with around 200ha of coastal land being set aside as a reserve.
Ngati Manuhiri Settlement Trust chairman Mook Hohneck said the public golf courses would improve the value and the quality of the land, which is currently planted with pine trees for commercial forestry.
“We bought some commercial interest as part of our treaty settlement, and we want to make the best go of it we can. It’s one of our strong investments,” he said. “We did sell some land, and some of that reserve contribution was for us to do commercial development, so Ric Kayne is building a couple of golf courses in there. We thought long and hard about it. We’re trying to turn it into something we can all enjoy.”
In his OIO application, Mr Kayne said he intended to develop two links-style, 18-hole championship level golf courses on the land, together with a clubhouse and visitor accommodation, plus maintenance and water storage facilities.
Mr Kayne claimed the development’s benefits to New Zealand would include the creation of 40 permanent full-time jobs, an increase in exports by at least $6 million a year by the end of 2022, the advancement of the New Zealand Government tourism strategy and at least $25 million of investment for development purposes.
Te Arai Links would also carry out planting to protect indigenous animals and ecological management of the land, including on-site revegetation monitoring, ecological protection and pest and weed control, he said.
Mr Kayne has said that with the existing Tara Iti course and the two new public courses, he wants to turn Mangawhai and Te Arai into a world golfing destination, and that he has been working closely with Ngati Manuhiri.
The new golf courses and accommodation still need resource consent from Auckland Council.
