4 April 2024:

Hi everyone, we have been advised that Matangi Station has entered into a conditional sale and purchase agreement with a buyer. The subcommittee will continue to explore options for securing public access to this special place.

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12 March 2024:

Many of you will be eagerly awaiting an update on our efforts to secure public access to the trails of Matangi Station. We appreciate your patience while we work hard on this project.

 

Unfortunately, our offer to purchase a public access easement from John Sanders has not been accepted. We believe this is partly due to some fundamental misunderstandings of the proposal, which we are working to address. We understand that offers from prospective buyers have been received; however, at this stage, the property remains unsold.

Purchasing an easement directly from John Sanders is our ‘Plan A.’ However, the sub-committee are actively pursuing alternative pathways to secure public access should this not be successful. We are far from giving up - the importance of this to our community has been made very clear. The sub-committee have been heartened by the overwhelming public support and are continuing to invest substantial time and effort in this process.

Thank you for your continued patience and understanding. We will continue to keep you updated as best we can.

From the subcommittee,
Andrew Dowling, John Williamson, Rob Wardle, Joe Sheriff, Simon Beardmore and Ollie Yeoman

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26 Feb 2024:

We are still waiting to hear whether our offer to purchase a public access easement on Matangi Station will move forward. Rest assured, we will let everyone know as soon as we can. A huge thank you to everybody who has shared our message - the level of support we have received so far is amazing.

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19 Feb 2024:

 A huge thanks to all of you who were able to be at last week’s Matangi public meeting, and all those who have completed our google form to show your support. As of Sunday 18th, there have been over 800 responses, with over 700 respondents willing to contribute financially. This has lead to a range of funding between $307,518 to $877,800, with a mid point of $538,900 - a fantastic response so quickly, without any corporate sponsorship or grant money yet in the mix! It really shows what Matangi means to us all.

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As we wait for John Sanders to work through his options we continue to campaign to grow support for our proposal. We will start work on a charitable trust deed, we will work on corporate sponsorship and we are maintaining our contact with John Sanders. Hopefully you have seen our posts on Facebook or Instagram, including a stunning short film thanks to Will Nelson and Image Central. 

How can you help?

• We would really love if you all can share these posts with your networks, ask people to fill out our google pledge form, and encourage others to share our posts also. Growing public support will strengthen our case for the easement.

• Anyone who feels they could contribute to corporate fundraising, or grant applications, please make contact with us. 

 

Many thanks to you all,

The Matangi access sub-committee

John Williamson, Andrew Dowling, Rob Wardle, Joe Sheriff and Ollie Yeoman

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15 Feb 2024:

1. We presented an Agreement for Sale and Purchase of the Easement to John Sanders last night.  We had a respectful meeting.

2. The Agreement is conditional on fundraising the required purchase price and Commission of Crown Lands consent.  The purchase price was blank.  We told John Sanders that we need to sit around the table to resolve the purchase price.

3. John Sanders needs time to consider his options including offers he has received to purchase the property, a refinance and how our offer can enable John Sanders to achieve a solution.

4. Thanks heaps for everyone who has completed the form and pledged non-binding financial support.  That meant we could go to the meeting and point out to John Sanders the huge level of support for the public access easement and that we were a serious alternative to selling. 

5. We had a midnight 14 February closure on our Support Form, to enable us to present to John Sanders the level of support we had.  We are blown away by the amount of financial support indicated, in only 24 hours.  We are leaving the support form live, so that anyone who has not completed the form, can still do so.  The more support we get, the more confidence we have in achieving our objective.  So, while John is considering his options, we can update him on the current status of growing public support. If you have not already done so please take a minute to indicate your support. Any information you submit will be kept confidential, and pledges of support are non-binding. CLICK HERE for the support link.

6. While we are trying to achieve a signed purchase agreement with John Sanders, we are also working on corporate sponsorship and will start work on a charitable trust deed.