‘Relief ’ as expressway dispute settled
News
It may have taken years but a Ka¯ piti businessman has finally settled his Crown compensation dispute over the compulsory buy-out of his property for the $630 million Ka¯ piti Expressway.
However, the size of the settlement cheque will remain strictly under wraps, thanks to a confidentiality clause spelled out in the final agreement.
Murray Livingstone has been fighting for a bigger payout after the Government signalled it wanted half of his 1.6-hectare Raumati section, which housed his gardening business and home, for the prominent roading project in 2013.
Livingstone’s assessors put the land’s value at between $150 and $250 per square metre, eclipsing the Crown’s valuations which were less than a third of that – between $40 and $60 per square metre.
Livingstone Garden Centre was demolished in 2014, before New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) and Livingstone’s Cobalt Sky and Murmar Gardens had agreed on compensation.
The chasm between the valuations was in the order of ‘‘something like $1.7m’’, Livingstone’s lawyer said.
Unable to find common ground, Livingstone took his case to the Land Valuation Tribunal on Monday, a body that deals with compulsory land acquisition under the Public Works Act.
While the hearing was set down for eight days, a settlement agreement was reached on Tuesday afternoon and signed off late Thursday.
A gagging order meant Livingstone was unable to comment on the outcome but issued a brief statement. ‘‘We’re relieved the settlement has been reached after 41⁄2-years. ‘‘We would like to thank our barrister Richard Fowler QC and the team for the effort that was put in over all of those years.’’
Family advocate Grant Birkinshaw said the saga had been a ‘‘huge stress’’ on Livingstone and his elderly mother Marion but hoped the outcome would encourage others to speak up if they did not agree with their compensation offer.
‘‘Believe in the principles of fairness. The legislation does say if there’s any doubt, there is a presumption that the benefit of the doubt goes to the landowner.’’
He hoped others facing similar circumstances would not be ‘‘reticent about holding firm [to their] beliefs’’.
‘‘It’s just a huge stress and it’s a great pity it’s taken this long.
‘‘The fact is a court case brings a sort of sharp edge to things and means people are more motivated to come to a reasonable settlement,’’ the advocate added.
Having the case progress all the way to the tribunal was rare, according to Land Information New Zealand (Linz) Crown Property manager John Hook.
After describing the Livingstone settlement as a ‘‘positive outcome’’, Hook was unwilling to speculate on whether more landowners would use this legal avenue in the future.
‘‘The vast majority of Public Works Act acquisitions are positively resolved through negotiation, reflecting the very small number of cases heard by the tribunal.
‘‘The last such case was in 2017,’’ Hook said.
NZTA has been approached for comment.