Neighbours lose court bid to stop Remuera project

Neighbours have lost their case to stop a $15 million Remuera apartment project from being completed.

Justice Grant Powell in the High Court at Auckland dismissed an application from eight neighbours of the nearly-finished townhouses on Ventnor Rd opposite the former Caughey Preston rest home property.

The neighbours had asked the court to stop developer Kurt Gibbons from issuing titles to buyers of the 13 homes.

They wanted the court to bar him from getting separate titles issued to the individual townhouses and wanted him stopped from settling all the sales to buyers who have paid deposits.

Neighbours Gary and Vicki Wallace, Richard and Eleanor Brabant, Jason and Lesley Orr and David and Tracy Pedersen sought interim orders to prevent the completion of the development.

The neighbours argued that if titles were created and the sales agreements were settled, the project would be “essentially irreversible”. They plan further court action against it so they wanted completion stopped to protect their positions.

“If the development is completed and the individual units subdivided and sold, the development becomes essentially irreversible,” said the decision on the applicants’ arguments.

“At that point, even if the substantive judicial review proceedings are successful, there will be no prospect of the applicants obtaining the remedy provided in the initial proceedings, and therefore the prospect of effective relief would be essentially if not entirely thwarted.”

Gibbons yesterday welcomed the neighbours’ litigation loss and attempt to stop him from finishing. Gibbons said buyers would be shifting in shortly.

“This decision was heard by a judge and he knows the background of the whole thing.

“He thought the plaintiffs had a very weak case.”

Construction at the project would be finished next Wednesday and titles would be issued within the next fortnight, Gibbons said yesterday.

Residents would shift in before the end of June.

“It’s cost me a lot of money, this holdup. It’s probably up to $700,000.” Work on the project was stopped from November through until a new consent was issued around March.

“There’s nothing that I’d do differently as a result of this’” said Gibbons. “We’re building to what we’re allowed to do. We’re not trying to exceed coverage, height to boundary or maximum height. Our developments could be much bigger under the new rules and not have any parking but I’ll always provide parking.”

Richard Brabant, one of the applicants, said in response to the decision yesterday: “Our collective position remains as advised before. There will not be any public comment or statements from us. I invite you though to visit our street and view the ‘finished product’.”

The judge’s June 3 decision noted the background to the dispute. “The applicants’ opposition to the development is long-standing. After 44 Ventnor Ltd obtained non-notified resource consent to develop 13 dwellings on the site at 44 Ventnor Road in March 2021, the applicants commenced judicial review proceedings in respect of both the notification decision and the substantive decision granting consent,” the judge noted.

Gibbons stopped work and sought a new consent.

The decision described the financial cost of the holdups to Gibbons.

It was clear from Gibbons’ evidence, filed on behalf of his company that it had expended significant sums to date — some $15 million.

If settlement of the sale of the units was prevented, 44 Ventnor Ltd would face immediate and significant holding costs on the development, the judge said.

He dismissed the neighbours’ application for interim orders and said Gibbons’ company was entitled to costs.

If the costs were not agreed on between the two parties, he would determine that issue also.