Ligar Bay baches’ future lies in council’s hands
Last Tuesday’s public meeting, held to discuss the future of the Ligar Bay baches, has resolved to send a summary of its discussions to the Tasman District Council. Bach owners seeking a continuation of their licences will need to make their own cases to council.
The meeting, which was attended by about 50 people, covered a wide range of questions and comments. The views of the wider community were also being canvassed via a survey but as the survey forms were not posted out in time by the council, the information was not available at the meeting.
The eight baches that are sited on road reserve at Ligar Bay were granted 25-year licences in 1989. Most of them are used as holiday homes or long-term summer accommodation, but one is the year-round home of the Bray family. The licences will expire in 2014.
People who have bought property at Ligar Bay have been told during the purchase process that the bach licences will expire and that the baches will be removed from the reserve after 2014. Some of these landowners are now disturbed to discover that the bach owners are seeking extensions to their licences. Other Ligar Bay landowners are perfectly happy for the baches to remain.
One bach owner, Bruce Ansley, said that as they have been there for over 60 years, the baches are part of Ligar Bay’s history. He described them as an endangered species. He argued that the suggested preservation of iconic New Zealand baches was under discussion nationwide.
“A way of life is disappearing,” he said. “It should be looked after.”
Ligar Bay resident Dean Lund favours the removal of the baches when their licences expire. “It’s not about our view of the sea. The baches are on public land and the land should be available to all of the public.”
Cr Riley said that he thought the 25-year licence to occupy had been a good idea...
...and “quite a generous move” by the then Golden Bay County Council. “The people with baches at Ligar Bay have known all along that the licences were due to expire,” he said. “It’s not as if they’ve only had five minutes’ notice. It’s the council’s view that it’s probably time for the baches to go from the road reserve, and I agree.”
Council property manager, Jim Frater, said that council was honouring the agreement made between the Golden Bay County Council and the bach owners in 1989.
“As the two ward councillors told the meeting in Pohara, there would have to be very good reasons for council to reconsider,” said Mr Frater. “And even then a reconsideration is not the same as an extension. The bach owners have been lucky to have lived quite cheaply for that length of time at Ligar Bay. That is one of the pearls of the district.”
Neil Wilson
