Environment Southland has agreed to sell a large block of land for just $1 after purchasing it six years ago for $650,000.

The land known as the ‘Webster Block’ is located near Waituna Lagoon — an area of ecological and cultural significance about half an hour from Invercargill.

The council has agreed to offer the land to Whakamana te Waituna Charitable Trust for the nominal amount to support long-term restoration and management, a council report said.

Work is commencing at the site on a “significant” reforestation project and pilot for nature credits.

Covering an area of more than 48 hectares, the block was purchased by the council in 2019 for a range of reasons including re-establishing a hydrological regime to protect the lagoon’s values, re-establishing Te Rūnanga o Awarua as kaitiaki and providing alternative land-use for better water quality.

It was also purchased to demonstrate different drainage options and farming interventions which could reduce contaminants in the lagoon and its tributaries.

Council chair Nicol Horrell said it was an ambitious project which would likely return the land to native plantings and wetland.

“A lot of what the trust has been doing in recent years, its leading edge and it has benefits for the whole community.”

The report noted the trust was set up to oversee a multi-million co-funding agreement between the council and Ministry for the Environment in 2018.

A covenant was placed on the land after it was purchased meaning it needed to be cared for in a way which improved biodiversity and freshwater.

That covenant dropped the land's value from $650,000 to $250,000.

The council has also retained a right of refusal on the land, meaning it can repurchase it for $1 if the trust attempts a disposal or winds up.

Stakeholders of the trust include Environment Southland, Southland District Council, Te Rūnanga o Awarua, Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, DoC and Fonterra.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air