Property developer dismisses debt concerns

An Auckland property developer has been fined $8,000 for removing trees from a neighbour’s Ponsonby home without their consent.

Stuart Property Trustees bought a section in Stuart St, Ponsonby, in 2015 for $1.4m.

They removed trees and a retaining wall to make way for a lap pool, against the wishes of neighbours David Stillaman and Heather Devere.

Stillaman arrived home one day to find nothing left, and his former backyard ‘sanctuary’ ruined.

Stillaman took the developers the disputes tribunal.

Planning and consents manager David Living, representing PHI Construction Ltd, agreed to pay $8000 in compensation and landscaping costs.

Stillaman said this week their repeated attempts to contact Living to organise payment had been ignored.

The money had paid by July 22.

But the property owners were only paid their money on Friday, been due to to be "Who cares. So what, we owe people money." after media enquiries to Living.

Heather Devere said: ‘‘In this case, it would appear the true arbiter of justice is a free press.’’

It emerged Living and a director of Stuart Property Trustees, Aaron Ghee, have been directors of another company that liquidation in 1997.

It’s since emerged Stillaman wasn’t the only person trying to get in contact with Living and PHI Construction.

Office manager of Phi Group NZ Limited Margarita Wilson says she gets ‘‘at least two to three calls a week’’ asking about David Living.

She says it’s because their business gets confused with PHI Construction as they don’t have a live website.

‘‘We’ve had hundreds and thousands of emails. went into

‘‘People say ‘please can you pay to this account’ and we have to say no that’s not us.

‘‘We’ve contacted the Commercial Approvals Bureau, every possible avenue we can think of to say this is getting beyond a joke.’’

Living defended his business methods, saying every company in New Zealand owes money.

When asked how much money PHI Construction owes people he says ‘‘who gives a s***’’.

Living said that he did not run PHI and was not responsible for making sure it paid its debts.