Fence saga costs $41k
The Wellington couple whose terrace was temporarily enclosed by a neighbour’s fence have clawed back a big chunk of legal costs after the Wellington City Council was ordered to pay them with ratepayer money.
In a High Court decision released on Tuesday the council was ordered to pay $41,479 while neighbour David Walmsley – who erected the fence – was ordered to pay $16,500 towards Peter and Sylvia Aitchison’s close to $100,000 in legal costs.
On appeal the Aitchisons had wanted two-thirds of the costs paid back to them, with the council paying more than Walmsley.
In determining what was a reasonable contribution to total costs, Judge Karen Clark ruled that one of the points that had justified an elevated level of costs was that the council and the Walmsleys ‘‘took a highly technical point and failed’’.
‘‘The Aitchisons were forced to shoulder the responsibility for seeking an authoritive interpretation of an aspect of the District Plan that was highly technical and difficult. The rule had long been understood as ambiguous and the council was aware of that ambiguity,’’ Clark said.
The council and Walmsley did not oppose the Aitchisons’ appeal so their lawyer, Andrew Cameron, only had to convince the judge that the council should have paid some of the Aitchisons’ costs.
The judge’s decision might be the final act in a case that began in 2015 after Walmsley built the fence and play fort structure, blocking the sun and harbour views from his neighbours’ apartment terrace in the Wellington suburb of Roseneath.
City council spokesman Richard MacLean said the planning implications of the decision were being considered among a range of other considerations that form part of the full District Plan review scheduled for 2021.
The council’s position on the appeal of the Environment Court costs decision was that it would abide the court’s decision and that remained the council’s position, he said.