A family with decades of experience in New Zealand’s golf industry says it submitted a bid to keep Pegasus Golf Course operating as a golf course and questions whether the tender process that led to its sale to a residential developer was conducted fairly.

The Vining Family, which describes itself as New Zealand’s largest distributor of golf equipment and previously owned and operated a golf complex in Palmerston North for around 20 years, has written an open letter to Chris Lynch Media outlining its concerns about how the sale was handled.

“We were prepared to have the course operational again within weeks of settlement,” the family said in the letter.

The family said that after the official deadline for tender submissions had passed and offers had already been lodged, bidders were reportedly approached and asked to reconsider or revise their terms.

“It is difficult not to question whether the process was conducted in a genuinely fair and equitable manner,” the letter said.

The Vining Family also raised concerns that neither the Waimakariri District Council nor the Mayor were meaningfully consulted before the sale, despite the land being historically zoned for golf and recreational use and the course being considered a core part of the Pegasus community.

The letter also pushed back on the narrative that Pegasus was no longer financially viable as a golf course, saying that based on the family’s own operational experience, that was not necessarily accurate.

“Equally, people are entitled to ask why a genuine golf operation proposal appears to have been overlooked in favour of residential redevelopment,” the letter said.

Community reaction to the sale has been substantial, with residents raising concerns about increased housing density, traffic and evacuation pressures, loss of green space, and the potential impact on surrounding property values.

The Vining Family said the situation had damaged trust within the community and called for public answers on how the tender process was conducted, whether all bidders were treated equally, and whether redevelopment outcomes were effectively predetermined.

“The people of Pegasus deserve clear answers,” the letter said.

Labour list MP Dan Rosewarne, based in Waimakariri, has called for talks with the developer Woofbrook.

Rosewarne said he was meeting Waimakariri Mayor Dan Gordon on the matter, and warned the Government could face a fight if it allowed the project to proceed through the fast track consenting process without properly engaging the community.

“The Pegasus Residents Group is well organised and the Government has a fight on its hands if it does let the developer go down that fast track route,” Rosewarne said.

The Pegasus Residents Group has organised a community meeting to discuss the issue on June 2 at Pegasus School hall, after interest outgrew the original Woodend venue.

Waimakariri MP Matt Doocey declared his opposition to a proposal saying the plan would undermine the character and identity of the area.

Doocey said “I’ve taken the opportunity this week to speak to a number of people in both Pegasus and the wider Waimakariri district to ensure I have engaged views on the Wolfbrook proposal before I made a decision on my position as local MP.

“My understanding there was local and national consortium bids submitted that would have invested into the golf course to build the facilities needed to make it an international golfing destination.”