City-fringe dairy farm mooted for potential urban housing development

A compact dairy farm on the edge of Hamilton’s northern city boundary has been placed on the market for sale – with a forecast that the land will most likely be converted into new housing as part of the city’s urban sprawl.

The 135-hectare freehold farm on Horsham Downs Road on the city’s northern urban limit currently sustains the milking of 430 cows – producing a three-year-average of 134,490 kilogrammes of milk solids.

However, Bayleys Waikato salesperson Mike Fraser-Jones who is marketing the property for sale said its future is most likely to replicate the emerging residential development seen immediately across the road at the intersection of Horsham Downs and Kay roads.

“With Hamilton’s burgeoning residential growth continuing to push out the city’s urban boundaries, it’s not difficult to suspect where the property’s future lies…. Housing,” Mr Fraser-Jones said.

“Rototuna North is now well established as an urban boundary subdivision, so the next move further out is along the Horsham Downs Road arterial spine. This property could sustain more of a lifestyle block zoning – allowing for the creation of bigger sections than seen in the nearby locations already being built out.

“The obvious appeal for this farm as a lifestyle residential development is the property’s flat to gentle rolling contour -which would make for easy residential subdivision and laying down of utilities and infrastructure.

“The landscaping appeal is enhanced by a large lake in the middle of the property, along with an abundance of mature trees adding to the aesthetics.”

Mr Fraser-Jones said that leasing the property or operating it in conjunction with a sharemilker – such as the arrangement currently in place – would provide a holding income while any large scale redevelopment plans were drafted and submitted to Waikato District Council for consent.

The farm at 374 Horsham Downs Road is currently zoned ‘rural 1A’ under Waikato District Council’s plan, and consists of three separate titles ranging in size from 36 hectares up to 54 hectares. The freehold property is being marketed for sale by tender through Bayleys Hamilton, with tenders closing at 2pm on November 16.

Mr Fraser Jones said that in its present well-established agricultural-production format, infrastructure and buildings on the farm included:

• A 40-aside herring bone milking shed

• A trio of three-bedroom homes – one of which features a swimming pool

• A five-bay calf shed

• A three-bay calf and implement shed

• Three hay barns

• A 1600 square metre lined effluent pond and pumping station pushing by-product across some 40 hectares of the farm through an underground pipe network.

Additional water for farm supply is drawn from four bores and stored in any of three 25,000 tanks before being pressure-fed through alkathene piping around the property.

Mr Fraser-Jones said the milk production levels at the farm had been achieved with the assistance of an adjacent 14 hectare block which was not part of the offering for sale, but could be leased by negotiation.

ENDS

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