Garden art and home raises ire

Deep in the heart of leafiest Fendalton, tucked away from public view, emotions are running high. A simmering dispute is close to boiling over. This is the case of the ‘‘penis in the wind’’, a five-metre tall garden sculpture which is part of a new-home build that has set neighbour against neighbour in the blue-ribbon suburb.

Elsewhere in the world, refugees are queueing at borders, terrorists are killing innocents and destroying historic sites and impoverished nations are struggling to combat disease and famine. In our own country there is child poverty and inequality and in Christchurch earthquake-affected residents still live in garages or damaged houses waiting for some conclusion to interminable delays with insurers and the Earthquake Commission.

So, a spat over a somewhat phallic artwork in someone’s garden in an area of prime city real estate could end up looking like an overreaction and a prime candidate to be winner of a ‘‘First World problems’’ award. But while it is easy to be flippant about such a situation, the dispute raises interesting and important issues, and highlights how critical it is that city planning rules are adhered to.

Woodford Tce resident Kay Fisher has taken umbrage at the landscaping activities of neighbour and planning commissioner Ken Lawn and his partner Gabrielle Tasman, who are building a new home. She became worried about the size of the project as vegetation was removed from along the Wairarapa Stream and the sculpture was installed, seemingly ‘‘right in my face’’.

She is most concerned because the city council had issued a non-notified consent for the dwelling after deciding she would not be adversely affected by it. Errors since discovered in the consent application forced the owners to apply for a variation, which has also been recommended should be nonnotified. A final decision on that should be known soon.

Fisher believes a planning consultant from outside Christchurch should have been used to hear the variation, although the council has said the process was carried out at arm’s length to avoid perceptions of bias or conflicts of interest.

Some might say this is all a storm in a bone-china teacup. Yet it is often these highly local issues that fire us up, spark disgruntled comments online and generate strongly worded letters to the editor. Things that happen in our patch affect us more directly and seem a lot more straightforward to tackle than trying to change the world.

It is likely that many of us, if put in the same boat as Fisher, would feel annoyed. The kind of relationship you have with your neighbours has a huge impact on your quality of life. If your home is indeed your castle, a haven from the stresses of the day and the outside world, then loud partying, boy racers revving engines and overpowering sculptures all impinge on that sense of refuge.

The size of the sculpture and the council’s determination that it and the development would not affect her quality of life cocks a snook at Fisher and the residential planning laws meant to ensure the rights of all are considered equally.

Let us hope this case is not just the tip of the iceberg.