Council seeks $14,000 from couple after battle

A Waihi Beach couple have come to the jarring end of their lengthy legal battle to stop a rock wall's construction with the decision they must pay the Western Bay council $14,000 in legal costs.
Peter Keall and Kathy Mason were still struggling to understand last week's decision by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council to seek most of the costs awarded to them.
The recommendation by the Environment Court was to seek $18,000 from the couple - a mere fraction of the $118,000 originally sought by Western Bay Council and Environment Bay of Plenty.
However, councillors late last week ruled, "in the interests of the wider public" to reduce it further by $4000.
After a three-year legal battle to stop the construction of the revetment wall along Waihi Beach, the couple said pursuing costs achieved nothing except to punish two people and their families.
Having already spent $20,000 of their own money and $50,000 raised by local residents, they said it would be hard to find the extra.
"At a stretch we have [the money], but like other people we have debts to pay, bills to pay," Ms Mason said.
With two young children, Ms Mason said she and her husband were now looking forward to catching up on the rest of their lives, with work around the house and even family holidays suffering in recent years.
"We have put in a huge amount of time over the past seven years and you don't do that to cause trouble, you do that because you are passionate about the issue."
The loss of the appeal in the Environment Court clears the path for the controversial 1050m rock revetment along Waihi Beach, which aims to stop coastal erosion.
The rock wall is not deemed a permanent solution and has come under attack in recent months from locals and engineers who say that it could create further erosion.
Outcry has also been heard among residents, with 53 beachside properties asked to pay an extra $3477 in rates.
Speaking at Thursday's Western Bay Council meeting, Mr Keall said he was, "totally bewildered as to why costs would be awarded against us. The appeal was made on behalf and supported by the wider community."
Ms Mason added: "We didn't think it was such a bad thing to request peer reviews that were mentioned in the Environment Bay of Plenty assessment."
Ms Mason said if she was to repeat the process, she would appeal as an Incorporated Society rather than as an individual, to gain funding from Ministry of Environment and safeguard against personal bankruptcy.
The council's argument by an engineer at the court appeal said that their alternative of a backstop wall would have major construction problems.
Ms Mason considered it "a red herring" and said they were not prepared with an engineer to dispute the late arising argument.
She felt the council should not have sought to recover the money, even if for the sole fact that the appeal had given the council previously unknown information about the beachfront - tide levels and dune movements.
She claimed that as a result of their information, the revetment wall had been extended by about four properties.
Costs were kept down with some of their experts working for free and countless hours of free legal advice from a senior partner at Simpson Grierson.
"It's not [been] a frivolous case, it's an important case," she said.
Originally, $118,000 was sought by the Western Bay Council and Environment Bay of Plenty - half of what the two authorities actually incurred in the appeal.
Councillor Sam Dunlop said he warned the pair long ago about the consequences.
"[I said] they needed to think very long and hard about this, because although the community show a great willingness to help, that can't always be the case."
"I was awfully concerned that you went into this ... with your eyes closed."
He said by not seeking the costs, council made itself "a sitting target for the future".
Mr Jones made an amendment to reduce the amount sought by $4000 to a total of $14,000.
Councillor Mike Williams reminded his fellow councillors the legal battle had cost $9 per Western Bay ratepayer.
"Council has done the very best job it could possibly do, it has consulted widely."