‘Walled-in’ couple speak out
‘They said: No, we’re completely within out rights, we’ll fight it.’ So we had no option but to take them on.’
A COUPLE whose luxury apartment was walled in by a 4-metrehigh playground will seek $100,000 from Wellington City Council after being battered in a legal stoush.
Peter Aitchison and his wife, Sylvia Aitchison, have used their retirement fund to fight the council over the structure, which was built on the boundary of their property in Roseneath’s soughtafter Maida Vale Rd.
The council signed off on the playground, built by neighbour David Walmsley, without demanding resource consent – despite it being 4m tall, 11m long, and blocking the Aitchisons’ million-dollar view of Wellington Harbour.
The council has insisted its hands are tied over the matter, and it has no option but to follow the district plan to the letter.
But the Environment Court ruled that the council made a mistake in its interpretation of the plan when giving the playground the green light.
According to a valuation, the addition of the structure had slashed $900,000 off the value of the Aitchisons’ property – which has a QV of $1.6 million.
Peter Aitchison described the case as ‘‘horrific’’, and said it had taken its toll on him and his wife since the structure was erected in April.
They had even considered taking down the playground themselves. ‘‘We had a team that were going to come round and cut it down. But our lawyer told us not to, which was good advice.’’
Yesterday Aitchison said his legal advice was that the court could not award 100 per cent of his costs. But the couple hoped, given the emphatic result, that they would receive the maximum sum allowed under law.
Aitchison said he and his wife had a meeting with the council legal team, head of planning, and chief executive about three months ago, and pleaded to have the decision reversed. ‘‘They said: ‘No, we’re completely within out rights, we’ll fight it.’ So we had no option but to take them on.’’
The fence is the third such structure to be erected on the site, with two previous fences taken down after legal challenges.
Dealing with the structure had been ‘‘pretty traumatic’’ and they had even offered to pay Walmsley to take it down. ‘‘We said to him, ‘What do we need to do to make this go away?’ ’’
Multiple attempts to reach Walmsley for comment have been unsuccessful. Council spokesman Richard MacLean said the council would respond to inquiries today.
Previously, city planning and design manager Warren Ulusele said that while the council understood the impact of the structure on the Aitchisons, it was bound to follow the district plan.
But the court ruled the council had made a mistake when it had decided the boundary between the two properties was at the top of a sloping retaining wall instead of at the bottom.
Peter Aitchison on his battle with the city council