Reserves Act 1977

Classification and management of reserves - Classification and purpose of reserves

25: Effect of revocation of reserve or change of classification or purpose

You could also call this:

"What happens to reserve land when it's no longer a reserve or its use changes"

If a public reserve is no longer a reserve, the land can be used for something else. You need to know what happens to the land when this occurs. If the land is owned by the government or a local council, it becomes available for other uses under the Land Act 1948.

When a reserve is no longer a reserve, or its purpose changes, the land might still have some restrictions on it. These restrictions are stated in the Gazette notice under section 24 of this Act.

If land was given to the government as a gift for a reserve, and the reserve is no longer needed, the government might offer the land back to the person who gave it, or their family. This can happen if the land was Maori land or other land, and the government thinks it is in the public interest.

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This page was last updated on 18 September 2025

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM444648.

Topics:

Environment and resources > ConservationEnvironment and resources > Land useHousing and property > Land useGovernment and voting > Local councils

24A: Change of purpose of reserve by territorial authority or regional council, or

"Changing the purpose of a local reserve: what councils need to do"

26: Vesting of reserves, or

"When the government owns a reserve, it can give it to a local group to look after."

Part 3Classification and management of reserves
Classification and purpose of reserves

25Effect of revocation of reserve or change of classification or purpose

Upon the revocation of the reservation of any public reserve or of any part thereof pursuant to section 24, the land comprised therein shall, if vested in the Crown or in any local authority or trustees deriving title from the Crown, become Crown land available for disposal under the Land Act 1948, and in any other case may be disposed of in such manner and for such purpose as may be specified by the Minister.
Upon any change of classification or purpose or revocation of reservation in respect of any reserve, the land specified in the Gazette notice under section 24(1) shall be held subject to such restrictions, encumbrances, liens, and interests as are specified in the notice.
Notwithstanding anything in subsection (1) or subsection (2), where any land the reservation of which is revoked had been transferred to the Crown by way of gift for the purposes of a reserve, the following provisions shall apply:
in the case of land that immediately before its transfer to the Crown was Maori land, the Minister, unless he or she considers it would not be in the public interest, shall offer the land, on such terms and conditions as he or she thinks fit, to the former owner or, if he or she is deceased, to his or her descendants, those descendants being as determined by order of the Maori Land Court:
in the case of any other land, the Minister, unless he or she considers it would not be in the public interest, shall offer the land, on such terms and conditions as he or she thinks fit, to the former owner or, if he or she is deceased, to his or her personal representative.

For the purposes of subsection (1), where any reserve in any county was vested in the Sovereign under section 13 of the Land Subdivision in Counties Act 1946 or section 16 of the Land Act 1924 or section 17 of the Land Laws Amendment Act 1920 or was purchased out of money in the Land for Settlements Account or the Land Settlement Account under section 14(2)(a) of the Land Subdivision in Counties Act 1946 and was later vested in the Corporation of the county as a reserve, the title of the Corporation to that reserve shall be deemed to have been derived by the Corporation otherwise than from the Crown.
For the purposes of subsection (1), where any land has been vested in the Corporation of a local authority as a reserve for the purposes of this Act or any former Act on the subdivision under any enactment, for residential, commercial, or industrial purposes, of any land of the Crown, the title of the local authority to that reserve shall be deemed to have been derived by the Corporation otherwise than from the Crown.