PHOTO: STUFF Iwi have bought two parcels of land at Woodbourne, near Blenheim, fronting Marlborough Airport.
Three top of the south iwi have signed off on an historic deal to jointly purchase two parcels of land at Woodbourne, near Blenheim.
The deal, which takes in 6.56 hectares of land in two lots fronting Marlborough Airport, comes following separate negotiations with the New Zealand Defence Force and the Marlborough District Council, and represents the first commercial partnership between the three iwi, Ngāti Apa ki te Rā Tō, Ngāti Kuia and Rangitāne o Wairau.
Negotiations commenced following the Te Tau Ihu Claims Settlement Bill in 2014, which gave the three iwi the right to purchase land at Base Woodbourne by way of redress for historical breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi.
READ MORE VIA STUFF