Information relating to Ben Ohau Golf Club Lease (Our ref. 888).
We refer to your Local Government Official Information Act request dated 17th December.
Request:
Thankyou for your email dated 15 December, 2025.
I was seeking a copy of the Ben Ohau Golf Clubs lease. You have sent me a purported clause contained within a document. I have no way of verifying whether this clause forms part of any lease.
I have previously been informed by the Council that the entirety of the Mini Golf course was contained within a lease held by the Twizel Bowling club. A recent survey has confirmed that this was not the case and accords with the documentation I hold dating back to between 2010 and 2014.
The Golf Club informed me in writing that their temporary lease (1 year) was expiring on 1 August 2025. They further advised that there was no provision within that lease for a sub-lease. Therefore, the purported clause contained in a lease that I cannot verify must have been incorporated since in a new lease.
However, Connexa now owns the former Spark tower on Manmade Hill. Spark would not have made a huge investment in this site without some security of land tenure without a sub-lease from the Golf Club. Yet, the golf club informs me that they were unable to issue a sub-lease. I am further informed that the Golf Club pockets the rent.
The only way these issues are going to be resolved is for the Council to forward a copy of the signed lease between the Golf Club and Council. This is publicly owned land and there is no reason why it should be kept secret. I look forward to receiving it (without delay) along with an explanation of the arrangement between Connexa and the Golf Club.
Response:
In relation to your request for the leases, we are withholding this information as (pursuant to the Act), the withholding is necessary to:
- Enable the Council to carry on, without prejudice or disadvantage, negotiations (including commercial and industrial negotiations) – Section 7(2)(i)
We note that this is your third request for copies of lease documents for the Ben Ohau Golf Club, see previous responses attached. [Not available on website.] This response is the same as our previous views.