Section of Roxburgh street to be stopped

An unformed portion of road in Branxholm Street in Roxburgh will be stopped, following a decision by the Central Otago District Council today (Wednesday 19 July 2023).

The decision to stop a 268 square metre section of legal road is subject to the applicants paying all costs associated with the stopping, including purchase of the land at valuation, and other formal conditions.

The request was first tabled at the Teviot Valley Community Board in March and was referred to the Council’s 19 April meeting. Essentially, the road stopping request was to legalise an historic encroachment of part of a house, in accordance with the provisions of the Public Works Act 1981. The community board recommended to Council that the applicants pay all costs associated with the stopping, and in addition pay $1 for the transfer and obtain consent of the neighbour. The land would need to be amalgamated with record or title, the stopping approved by the Minister of Lands, and approval gained from the CODC Chief Executive Officer for the final survey plan.

After thorough discussion at the April Council meeting, the matter was left on the table pending receipt of more information regarding when the road was originally surveyed and whether the road reserve was defined prior to the house being built. The Council today considered the additional information that had been gathered, which included the dates of the certificates of title that indicated when survey was undertaken. The date the dwelling was built is unclear, however the encroachment of the building on Council unformed road was clearly evident on the certificate of title from 1958.

Relevant to the decision was the fact that it was always a property owner’s responsibility to identify the boundary before undertaking any building work. Also, a purchaser should be aware of the location of boundaries before buying property. Boundaries can be identified by searching the title, obtaining a Land Information Memorandum (LIM), or if it that is still unclear, a purchaser could have the boundary identified by a surveyor. These matters are regularly addressed by purchasers’ lawyers prior to purchase.

The Council policy requires that land encroaching on Council road be purchased at market valuation. The funds obtained from road stopping are accumulated and used when Council needs to pay, to rationalise a boundary when it is the Council encroaching over private property, in which case the Council pays market valuation for the land.

After the meeting, Central Otago District Council Property and Facilities Manager Garreth Robinson said while the Council had a clearly defined process in its Roading Policy, acknowledged it had not been an easy situation for the property owners.

“This is not a unique situation as there are a number of encroachments resulting from buildings having been built over boundaries. We do have sympathy with the property owners, however a decision contrary to Council policy would create a precedent which would impact on ratepayers.”

It was moved that:

• The applicants pay all costs associated with the stopping including purchase of the land at valuation.
• The applicants obtain the consent of the adjoining owner.
• The land be amalgamated with record of title.
• The stopping be approved by the Minister of Lands.
• The final survey plan be approved by the Chief Executive Officer.