Pain Farm issues for critical public airing

By Storm Robertson, Chair, Martinborough Community Board

When the current Martinborough Community Board (MCB) first got together we decided we needed to understand what issues the community had and what we could do to make a worthwhile contribution to potentially resolving them. We set off by holding “Meet the MCB” meetings and right from the start, Pain Farm (PF) was a constant topic raised.

There were many issues about the farm estate raised, so we determined to understand PF and how it was operating.

What we found was the accounts were being poorly maintained, details of spending were incomplete, contracts were either non-existent or being poorly managed and Council did not seem to understand its role as Trustee.

We also found that in 2019 the then-MCB had approached council formerly requesting actions including explanations of how the account was being managed, and in particular its financial status, what funds were due to PF, and details of outgoings being paid to council and what contracts were in place.

At the time, the council acknowledged they had managed PF poorly and would set about to improve the situation.

In 2023 the very same issues existed and in fact council had increased its charges to PF by treating it as one of its assets.

The impact was the current MCB could not accurately determine the financial status of PF and therefore we suspended applications for funding grants.

After several meetings between council and MCB, a document, Memorandum of Agreement, was set up and signed in October 2023, with a review due to be held in December 2023.

The document confirmed the following;

1. The Council was the Trustee;

2. The Martinborough community were to be the beneficiaries;

3. MCB was to be the Governors of PF.

The document set out to improve financial reporting, define income sources, provide a full list of contracts and leases held with anniversary dates of same, a transparent process for setting fair and reasonable cost recoveries and overheads.

To date council has not competed any of the tasks in a manner acceptable to MCB.

New council CEO Janice Smith is reviewing the document.

We now have the stated intention of council to use the PF land as a key part of the planned new treatment process for Martinborough wastewater.

This raises key questions for public discussion.

1. What is the future for Pain Farm?

2. What you want the future of Pain Farm to be?

3. How do you want Pain Farm to be managed?

4. What improvements/developments would the community like to see?

We, as the MCB, will be guided in our future actions by what the community wants.

Public Meeting: Waihinga Centre Wednesday May 15 6:30 p.m.

The Star reported in its March edition that:

Martinborough’s 85 hectare trust-owned Pain Farm would see 93 million litres of sewage effluent a year sprayed onto its land, which was “the cause of agitation and concern,” according to Mayor Martin Connelly at a council meeting Feb. 21.

It also emerged:

* the sewage effluent disposal plan has unresolved legal issues over the proposed land use;

* the Martinborough Community Board, as Pain Farm trustees, may not have been consulted over the plans;

* SWDC may not be paying the Trust to use part of its land for the rubbish transfer station; 

* public consultation nearly a decade ago is under serious question, while Mayor Connelly claims it was “good” and at the time there were “no major objections to the plans for waste water dispersal.” 

* The present intention was “to grow silage and baleage for sale to raise money.”

* That by 2035 the whole of the property could be used for sewage effluent spraying.

Connelly insisted to the meeting that the original public consultation was “good. Nobody objected to the level of consultation.” 

“People may not be aware of the history and the fact it had widespread support when it (the effluent spray decision) was … (recommended to council in 2016),” he told the  meeting.

It was worth the council seeking another Supreme Court order to see whether (the plan to use Pain Farm land for effluent) does or does not meet (legal) requirements.”

The Mayor proposed the council provide “a good summary of the history” of the Pain Farm issue for the public and “seek further legal advice” to clarify key matters.

The late George Pain Willed the estate to the then Martinborough Town Board in 1932.

The property “as far as possible be made available as a sportsground for residents … and as a playground for the children.”

A 1966 Supreme Court ruling approved the council retaining the endowment and using revenue generated to enhance those amenities in the borough.

A later Phillips Fox legal opinion said SWDC should “consult the public as ‘landowner’ of Pain Farm” over the land use change.