At the Diocese of Dunedin Synod 2018 a resolution was passed around the future of Selwyn College within the Diocese.

The motion (which has now become a resolution) empowers the Diocesan Trust Board (who hold all of the Anglican Church properties in the Diocese of Dunedin in Trust) at the direction of the Diocesan Council (the governing body) to:

1. Sell the buildings and business of Selwyn College to a party who is able to govern and manage the College (according to best practice, for the benefit and wellbeing of its residents), subject to a formal undertaking by the purchaser to maintain the special character of the College.

2. Retain ownership of the land, entering into a lease agreement with any purchaser of the College buildings and business on a modern “Glasgow” type lease with 7-year ground rent reviews

3. Enter a Memorandum of Understanding with the purchaser around clause 1 and 2 of this resolution and the maintenance of the special character of the College

How would this work?

This is still to be determined – what happened at Synod was that approval was given to progress negotiations around points 1 and 2 in the motion i.e. potentially altering the management and ownership of Selwyn College. We are not able to go into any more detail about this exactly as discussions and negotiations are still at an early stage: there is obviously commercial sensitivity as we talk to interested parties. As Selwyn College has been a part of the Diocese of Dunedin since 1893, there is also a lot of work required in terms of connecting with stakeholders who want to know what is happening, as well as sorting out what needs to happen legally (Church and other Statutes). If we do go into a “Glasgow lease” arrangement, this involves the Diocese retaining ownership of the land that Selwyn College occupies, while another party effectively purchases the buildings and business. The other party enters into a perpetually renewable lease for the land, unless there is a time in the future when the other party may want to pull out.

We have been looking at a Memorandum of Understanding about the management of Selwyn, we are not in a position to confirm what this entails until due process has taken place.

What were the issues that led to the motion?

There has been a lot of discussion over the past few years about the best way to support Selwyn College in the future, and it would be fair to say that this debate has been robust at times with some very different views around the table. The College has generally been well run and continues to be profitable, but concerns have been expressed from some members of the Selwyn Board around the realities of managing and governing what is essentially one of the few remaining “stand alone” residential Tertiary colleges.

What this process has done is to  focus us on  developing and safeguarding the special character of the College, including its place within the Anglican tradition.

What happens next in terms of this issue?

We need to enter into a further period of negotiation in terms of the Resolution from Synod. The Diocesan Council (the governing body of the Diocese of Dunedin) now has the go ahead to explore a future direction, but are still in very early stages. We realise that Selwyn College has a strong profile in Dunedin and beyond, with many in the wider community - including current residents and staff - having a keen interest in what actually transpires. We will need to consider how best to engage with this wider community in looking at what the future may involve.

If a sale lease agreement is arranged, will the church have any future relationship with the college?

Yes – as mentioned above, part of the motion passed includes maintaining the special character of the College, and this is something that we want to work on further. It gives us the opportunity to explore how we can have a positive connection with Selwyn and continue to meet the spiritual needs to students and staff who live and work there. In our conversations around Selwyn, it has been said many times how much it is  part of our DNA – and especially so for the All Saints Church which has (and continues to have) a very significant connection. We don’t want to lose this but want to explore ways to enhance it and make it even better.