Nothing says more about us than land. It has an extraordinary ability never to forget.

It can show us when we first set foot on it, the tools we have used, the lives we have lead, the wars we have raged, the advances we have made, the mistakes we have tried to hide, the empires we have built and for better or worse the impact we have had on it.

That impact - and what it will say about us to future generations - is at the heart of The Williams Land Company Philosophy.

We believe land is too important, too precious and too vulnerable for us to continue to subdivide, chop, scrape, denude, clutter and tame. Our philosophy is different. Yes, we are in the business of developing land and yes, we wish to do that profitably. Our difference is probably best summed up by the clients we attract. They see the beauty not so much in what is developed but in what is left alone. They would rather pay a little more for less - less development, fewer neighbours, fewer fences – in essence footprints rather than footpaths.

So that these aren’t just reassuring words here are some specifics:

In a location that is a mix of urban and rural land 70% of the land area is restricted from housing development. In a rural location, that restriction is increased to 90%

It is no use creating open spaces that can later be subdivided. We protect open spaces in perpetuity through strict and lasting conservation covenants

We work proactively with Department of Conservation and Conservation Communities to both protect and encourage the proliferation of wildlife and native plants

We actively restore and improve areas that have suffered environmental damage

Less roading infrastructure and more footpaths, walkways and nature trails

We are not about creating a development. We are about creating a sense of place. A living breathing community – for people, for wildlife and for plant life

Maori have a strong belief in mutual respect between land and people - working in harmony each can enrich and reward the other. Where appropriate we work alongside local Iwi to understand and respect local protocols and areas of importance

In a nutshell, it’s our belief that the best land developer of all time was Mother Nature and our job is simply to tread as carefully as we can in allowing people to enjoy her fine work.

We have an added responsibility for one more reason - and that is because of the land we choose. We believe it is some of the most beautiful land on earth. We therefore have a very real responsibility to plan carefully and work sensitively – not just for our clients but for the many generations to come. Many years from now they too should enjoy and admire this land and how it has been treated, not shake their heads in sadness at yet another of man’s mistakes that the land will never forget.

Past legacy commitments of Williams Legacy Properties projects include:

development restricted to 30 residential lots (up to 90 lots possible)

Anti subdivision/building restrictions covering 1028 ha (2539 acres);conservation covenants 380ha regenerating native forest

habitat protection 380ha (938 acres); permanent pest eradication and kiwi and bird protection programme

205 ha (506 acres) including 497,000 trees

20kms farm tracks maintained in rural metalled state; 18 kms unformed riding/walking trails; 3kms new public road and walking track for public access to historic sites; 8kms coastal esplanade strip

small residential community introduced into very large rural coastal landscape, underwriting far-reaching wildlife, open space and conservation programmes, maintaining farm and rural landscape

370 sites, including 7 pa sites, identified, mapped, researched and preserved; cultural protocols with iwi for long term relationships, access and historic site preservation

development restricted to 40 residential lots (approximately half of limit possible)

Anti-subdivision / building restrictions: 427 ha (1054 acres); conservation covenants 186ha ( 459 acres) coastal forest; grant of large beach area to local council

habitat protection 186ha; permanent pest eradication and bird protection programme; new coastal tree planting to link island birds to Department of Conservation forest (high priority national programme)

35 ha (86 acres), 225,000 coastal plants and trees

farm tracks maintained in rural metalled state; unformed riding/walking trails; public walking trail legalised, upgraded and extended; 3kms coastal esplanade strip granted

medium sized residential community introduced into coastal farm close to Auckland to create recreation oriented community and preserve large farm and forest in local landscape being intensively urbanised

40 sites, including 4 pa sites, identified, mapped, researched and preserved; cultural protocols with iwi for long term relationships, access and historic site preservation

Current legacy commitments by Williams Legacy Properties include:

development restricted to 25 residential lots (up to 86 lots possible)

Anti subdivision/building restrictions covering 480 ha (1185 acres); conservation covenants 135 ha (333 acres); open space covenants 480 ha (1185 acres)

habitat protection 135ha (333 acres); permanent pest eradication and kiwi and bird protection programme; conservation proposal for creation of bio-diversity hub over 3500 ha (8645 acres) - $2.25m project, 10 years

33 ha (82 acres) including 100,000 plants and trees complementing 95 ha (234 acres) of existing vegetation

9kms farm tracks maintained in rural metalled state; 18 kms unformed riding/walking trails; 1.2 kms new walking track for public access to coastline

small residential community introduced into large rural landscape in active recreation coastline, underwriting very far-reaching wildlife, open space and conservation programmes, maintaining operating farm and rural landscape

46 sites, including 2 pa sites, identified, mapped, researched and preserved; cultural management plan with iwi for long term relationships, access, historic site preservation and broadly based relationship on local and iwi issues

Initial development 150 lots covering 75 ha in an 880ha property 20 minutes from CBD, with rural/forestry/recreation uses for balance outside development area

800 ha maintained as open space under stage 1 development; overall plan for over 75% of property to remain as open space; extensive conservation covenants

development designed to avoid sensitive foreshore wildlife areas, preserve 88 ha of pre-European native forest, permanent pest eradication and wildlife protection programmes and creation of bird corridor for regional wildlife corridor

conservation proposal for initial retention and subsequent conversion of exotic pine plantation of 700 ha of native forest to native forest

the opportunity to create a world class resort/city destination within a very large forest, with golf courses, riding and other recreation activities, preserving a major greenbelt at the edge of a major city with strong conservation features

protection of majority of sites and remediation and heritage enhancement; formal access and open space management agreements with iwi, and recognition of kaitiakitanga