Raglan News Bulletin Monday 17 August 2022

Waikato District Council voted unanimously yesterday to begin the process of returning the Raglan Airfield to the original owners. Staff will now engage with the Office for Crown Relations and other agencies to facilitate the return of the airfield land.


(Listen to the full bulletin below:)

 

Originally taken around World War 2 for defence purposes the land was wrongly given to Waikato District Council in 1969 sparking the Matakite-O-Aotearoa Movement led by Eva Rickard in 1971. This led to the return of the golf course land in 1987 but the Airfield remained in the council hands.


When the issue of fencing the airfield emerged at the March 31st Community board meeting last year it was decided that council staff should investigate how the land should be returned. Despite this decision, a community meeting was called a few weeks later and an occupation on the site a few months after that.


As a result of yesterday’s decision, staff will start discussions with the minister to request the vesting of the reserve be cancelled but there is still lots of red tape to get through after this and legal confusion to work out.

Waikato District Council has reviewed its Local Alcohol Policy and is proposing a number of changes including that there be no more bottle shops opened in Raglan and other Waikato towns.

There was considerable opposition in the community when it was first proposed that Thirsty Liquor be established on Bow St but regulations stymied attempts to prevent the business being approved. Regulations improved after that but this is a further opportunity to beef up those regulations.  Submissions close on 11th September at the council

And that is the Raglan news for 17th August 2022.