- Lindisfarne College’s rugby fields were sold for just under $8m to an undisclosed buyer.
- The college’s lease expires next year, but it has other fields to meet its needs.
- The land, marketed for development, is also identified as a potential stormwater management site.
The rugby fields used by one of the country’s top sporting schools have been snapped up by an undisclosed buyer for just under $8 million.
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Lindisfarne College told OneRoof that it was unsure if its students would still be able to use the 6.05ha Ranui Sports Field next to its campus now that the property had a new owner.
The Lyndhurst Road property had been owned by the same family for more than 100 years and was previously an asparagus and peach farm.
Lindisfarne College has produced several sports stars, including former All Black Israel Dagg. Photo / Brett Phibbs
Lindisfarne College is uncertain whether it will still be able to use the 6.2ha block for cricket and rugby games when it changes hands. Photo / Supplied
For the last decade, Lindisfarne College has used the fields for rugby and cricket matches. However, its lease expires mid-next year.
Rector Stuart Hakeney told OneRoof that the sale of the land would have “very little impact” on the school’s ability to provide sufficient training and playing fields for its students.
“If Ranui is not able to be used in the future, we have enough capacity on the Farne Sports Field and adjacent block to cater for our needs,” he said, confirming that the school had not purchased the sports fields.
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Lindisfarne College had been paying $20,000 per annum plus $30,000 in rates for the rights to the land, which spans two titles – one 3.63ha, the other 2.42ha – and is almost as big as Lindisfarne College’s main campus.
The state-integrated Presbyterian boys’ school was recently named by Crimson Education as one of the top 20 New Zealand schools for gaining admission to the world’s leading universities. It also has a strong sporting record, and its former students include former All Blacks Israel Dagg and Taine Randall.
Mint Realty listing agent Nic Goodman confirmed that Ranui Sports Field had been sold, but declined to comment further.
Lindisfarne College, in Hastings, is one of the country’s top schools. Photo / Warren Buckland
She had marketed the property as having future development potential.
The block is currently zoned Plains Production Zone, but is in an area currently undergoing a future plan change. As part of the plan change, the land has been identified by Hastings District Council as one of multiple stormwater management sites, adding complications to any sale.
Hastings District Council has also ruled itself out as the purchaser, despite eyeing up the land as a stormwater management site.
The council already owns a 4000sqm block of land at 549 Lyndhurst Road. It paid $1.5m for the property in 2016 to provide stormwater infrastructure for the existing Lyndhurst area, but a council spokesperson said investigations showed it was not large enough to provide sufficient stormwater attenuation for the proposed Lyndhurst Extension Area.
The council said it was part of the current structure planning requirement to find additional land area solutions, and staff had been speaking with landowners in the area. The sports field was one of “multiple” stormwater sites identified, and the council was speaking with landowners in the area about potential options, including an out-of-zone option.
“At this stage, no determination has yet been made on the most optimal stormwater solution for the Lyndhurst Extension Area and no decision from council to proceed with public notification of a plan change has yet been made (let alone a final decision on that process).”
The spokesperson said that the land’s future use would be affected by any decision to confirm the area as a stormwater management zone.
“Depending on the aspirations of the owners, and what transpires through a future plan change for this area, that could result in the current use being retained, or development of some description or a mix. This cannot yet be determined.”
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