‘Second Oriental Bay’ opposed
Planning consents granted for Wellington’s Shelly Bay project would turn the area into ‘‘a second Oriental Bay’’, a judge has been told.
Local interest group Enterprise Miramar Peninsula, is challenging the resource consents granted for the development project.
Lawyer Matthew Smith told the High Court in Wellington yesterday that the consents granted in April 2017 would lead to a second Oriental Bay, referring to the busy harbourside area, closer to the city, with its multi-storey apartment buildings.
The Wellington Company Ltd has been granted consents to go ahead with the project on the former Shelly Bay air force base.
As well constructing new apartment buildings up to 27 metres high, it planned to create a boutique hotel and brewery, along with a 12m-high car stacker to help with parking in the area.
About 350 dwellings would be created over 13 years.
The development would negatively affect already strained infrastructure and cause traffic congestion, especially at the Miramar Cutting leading to the suburb, Smith said.
The road would have to be widened, at a significant cost, and ratepayers may be asked to pay for the road that should have been paid for as part of the development.
Enterprise Miramar Peninsula says the consents, granted without public notification, were flawed for several reasons. It wanted the consents overturned. One suggestion was that the application for planning consent should be reconsidered by independent commissioners.
The plans were so ‘‘highly conceptualised’’ that Wellington City Council could not have been satisfied regarding matters such as infrastructure to have given the approval it did, Smith said.
The proposed building heights of up to 27m exceeded the design guidelines for Shelly Bay in the council’s district plan. They should be limited to between 7m and 12.5m, he said.
Enterprise Miramar Peninsula was set up in 2013 to support the suburb’s business community and advocate for better services for the area.
Part of the Shelly Bay site is owned by the council. It was proposed the land would be sold or leased for the development.
Shelly Bay Ltd, a land-owning company run by Port Nicholson Block Settlement Trust, owns the rest of the site. The trust has joined with The Wellington Company to develop the area.
Among complaints about the council process was that, as an owner of some of the land, the city had an interest in the development but councillors did not seek independent advice, and made the resource decision in-house. That process had the appearance of bias, Smith said.
But the council’s lawyer, Nick Whittington, said it owned the land for ratepayers. It had not reached an agreement yet but had been negotiating on developments related to the sale or lease of its land, and holding talks about the required infrastructure.
The court was given the council’s estimate of the economic benefit to Wellington if the plan went ahead but that figure has been kept confidential.
Instead of adhering to the usual Resource Management Act, the planning consents were granted under the Housing Accords and Special Housing Areas Act, with the aim to ‘‘enhance housing affordability’’ in areas with supply and affordability issues.
Smith said there was no way the application could have been rigorously and independently considered to fall within the boundaries of the country’s Housing Accords Act.
The hearing, taking place before Justice Peter Churchman, was due to finish today.
Enterprise Miramar Peninsula was not trying to stop all development at Shelly Bay.
Lawyer Matthew Smith