Wanganui District Council and local police are joining forces to bring down the fortifications around the Hells Angels' River City headquarters.
Councillors voted 8-5 at last night's council meeting to make a joint application with the police to the court to remove the high fences around the Kaikokopu Rd property.
The move comes a month after councillors voted against making an application to the court, but they did agree at that time to take further advice from the police.
Whanganui Police area commander Inspector Duncan MacLeod was at yesterday's meeting and answered councillors' questions.
Mayor Michael Laws asked if police believed the fortifications "aid and assist [the Hells Angels] in evading crimes".
Mr MacLeod agreed that was so but said he was unable to provide further details as some of the alleged incidents were currently before the courts.
The fences are fully legal and were given resource consent in 1984. However, they have recently come under scrutiny from the council after Parliament amended the Local Government Act to allow councils and police to seek a removal order for structures that are intimidating or contribute to illegal activities.
Some councillors expressed their concern at the possible cost of any legal action to ratepayers.
Cr Ray Stevens asked Mr MacLeod if the police were prepared to "wear the cost of what will be a test case".
Mr MacLeod said he was unable to answer that as it was a policy decision, and any decision about funding would not be made by him.
So councillors passed two more motions - that the council authorise the mayor to negotiate with the police "with a view to defining legal costs and assigning responsibility", and that the mayor report back to the council.
Earlier in the meeting, councillors talked to Kaikokopu Rd resident Leslie Gill, who has lived opposite the Hells Angels for nearly 25 years.
Mr Gill has publicly said he would like the fortifications to stay. Yesterday he presented a petition to councillors calling for the fence to remain.
"I have never been intimidated - I've enjoyed living there."
But Mr Laws said he had received information from a resident who complained her children were "terrorised" by the noise the Hells Angels' motorbikes made.
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