Objectors hail bridge costs win

The Gore District Council has been ordered to pay more than $15,000 in costs to a group that opposed its plans to build a bridge across the Mataura River.

Judge Prudence Steven has awarded $15,373 to the Waimea Plains Landscape Preservation Society.

The society had sought more than $30,000, but Judge Steven said she was unwilling to grant an award that was higher than normal.

The matter was not unnecessarily lengthened by the council’s conduct, and awarding 70% costs would be a burden on local taxpayers, she said in the decision.

The society welcomed the award, said chairperson David Gray.

‘‘It vindicates our stance to oppose the bridge being built and in my personal opinion it’s a damning condemnation of the council.’’

The group’s opposition was based on the lack of consultation, the impact on residents’ views and privacy, and the fact the bridge was out of character for the semi-rural setting.

‘‘Well over $1m has been spent and in effect wasted,’’ he said.

Council chief executive Steven Parry said the winner of a civil proceeding was usually entitled to costs.

‘‘In this instance, the society was awarded a sum considerably less than it sought, but the council overall considers that was a fair outcome.’’

In the decision about costs, Judge Steven said she agreed with the society that the council’s conduct at times was detrimental, alongside its decision to put forward a proposal with significant adverse visual amenity effects.

‘‘In my personal opinion it’s a damning condemnation of the council.’’ David Gray Waimea Plains Landscape Preservation Society

She also accepted the society’s submission that the council made last-minute attempts to rectify its evidence, to the detriment of the society.

In response to an Official Information Act request, Parry told Stuff in April that the council’s total cost for the Longford Cycling and Walkway Bridge was $901,420.

It also paid $575,000 for a 22.8ha block of land to the northwest of the site, which was now being leased.

The decision draws the bridge saga to a close after two years of petitions, resource consent hearings and court cases.

In 2020, the council announced plans to build a $3.7m cable-stay bridge across the river. It was to be a single-span pedestrian and cycle crossing, carrying new water pipelines linking Gore and East Gore as part of a $10.7m upgrade of the council’s East Gore water treatment plant.

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency was funding 55% of the cost.

But residents living near the site were not consulted on the plans, and either was the Hokonui Rū nanga, which said this was ‘‘a clear example of a culture of ignorance towards, or, at worst, active exclusion of mana whenua from planning processes’’.

The Rū nanga later adopted a neutral position, after discussions with the council.

Consents for the bridge were granted by commissioners in 2021, but the society took the council to the Environment Court, which found in its favour in March, scuppering the council’s plan.

In April, Parry said the council was now considering several options to convey water pipes across the Mataura River.