Dairy owner regrets altering historic building without consent
A Wellington dairy owner has expressed regret over carrying out construction work on a heritage-listed building without the necessary paperwork.
Naginbhai Neil Patel pleaded guilty in Wellington District Court yesterday to two Building Act and Resource Management Act charges over work carried out on the century-old Sir James Elliott House in Kent Tce.
The historic building was the home of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons for 25 years before it was bought by Ganesh Superannuation Fund Ltd in 2013. Patel, who also owns the Shalimar Dairy in Aro Valley, was a shareholder in the company.
Wellington City Council received a complaint in December 2015 about the construction work at Sir James Elliott House.
The building was being converted from commercial to residential properties and plumbing work was being done. Further site visits showed the work was not removed and no consents had been applied for.
In January this year, further work was done on the outside of the building that also needed consent.
Speaking after his court appearance, Patel apologised for his actions.
‘‘We have made mistakes, but we are trying our best to make things right,’’ he said. ‘‘The building has not been damaged in any shape or form by the works that have been carried out.’’
However, he was frustrated by his interactions with Wellington City Council over the matter. ‘‘The council has not been helpful in co-operation processing [of] building consents.’’
Patel’s lawyer, Clare Stanley, said the process for consents was under way, which could have an impact on sentencing.
The building was designed in 1913 by notable New Zealand architect William Gray Young, who was president of the NZ College of Architects in the 1930s.
Gray was also responsible for designing such buildings as Knox College in and Dunedin and Turnbull House in Wellington, and had designed Elliott House for the Wellington surgeon. Elliott occupied the building as his home, consulting practice and surgery until selling it in 1960.
The building was assessed as earthquake prone in 2013 and Royal Australasian College staff moved out.
Wellington District Court judge Peter Hobbs remanded Patel until next month to set a date for sentencing.