A major step forward in efforts to develop Miramar's Watts Peninsula.

A Memorandum of Understanding is being signed this morning by representatives of the Crown, Wellington City and Regional Council's and the Port Nicholson Block Settlement Trust.

The historic land was owned by the New Zealand Defence Force from 1885 to 2008, when it decided to dispose of it.

That attracted huge public interest, due to the archaeological and historic heritage sites on the land, and its open space and recreational potential for Wellington.

The Crown has been working with the Defence Force and Department of Conservation since 2011 considering what to do with the land.