Fresh angst over $6k-a-time wedding venue
The millionaire owner of one of the country’s top vineyards is embroiled in a new stoush with Auckland Council involving a luxury Waiheke villa.
Loukas Petrou has been fighting Auckland Council and his Waiheke Island neighbours in a long-running Environment Court battle over noise complaints at Cable Bay Vineyards.
But he is now in a dispute involving his nearby Cable Bay Villa — a luxury five-bedroom home with ocean views on Church Bay Rd which can be rented as visitor accommodation for thousands of dollars per night.
Petrou is a construction company director who owns another multimillion-dollar property on Waiheke’s Queens Drive and another in Remuera’s dress circle Arney Cres.
He bought his latest house, set in a sprawling olive grove, for about $4 million several years ago.
After refurbishing the property so it could be rented as luxury visitor accommodation, including the addition of a swimming pool, he advertised it online as an exclusive wedding venue.
But Petrou’s plans came undone when it emerged he’d carried out unconsented building work and failed to get the necessary permits to hold weddings on the site.
An online listing says for $5999, wedding-goers get exclusive use of the sprawling villa “adorned with luxurious linen and furnishings”, catered dining and their own dedicated wedding co-ordinator.
But the Herald can reveal Petrou was asked to desist by the council after it received complaints about his grand accommodation and wedding plans. Officials are in compliance talks with Petrou, who has been ordered to remove the luxury wedding listing from online.
Council regulatory compliance manager Steve Pearce said it had been used as a wedding venue without consent: “The owner has agreed to cease using it for this purpose while we work through possible solutions with him.
“They have confirmed that they have removed the advertisements and won’t hold any weddings or similar functions at the site.”
Council officers also found breaches of the Building Act relating to plumbing and the conversion of a shed into visitor accommodation.
The council was providing advice on how to comply with regulations as a “first course of action before resorting to other options”.
Failure to rectify the Building Act breaches could result in a maximum fine of $200,000, while Resource Management Act breaches could result in a fine of up to $600,000 for a company or $300,000 for an individual, or up to two years’ imprisonment.