The Māori freehold land at Te Tumu is located at the eastern end of Pāpāmoa. Photo / George Novak
The Māori freehold land at Te Tumu is located at the eastern end of Pāpāmoa. Photo / George Novak
A Court of Appeal ruling has quashed plans for one of Tauranga's largest urban development projects long considered critical to help address the city's housing crisis.
But Tauranga City Council's chief executive says all is not lost.
The ruling dismissed a case that sought to unlock a 240.7626-hectare block ofMāori freehold land at Te Tumu at the eastern end of Pāpāmoa.
A group of owners known as Te Tumu Kaituna 14 Trust originally applied to the Māori Land Court to change the status of 55.48ha from Māori freehold land to general land, with conditions allowing for consent for a subdivision and new titles.
Parts of the land were proposed to be zoned for roading, infrastructure and servicing corridors and it was considered external funding for this would be easier to get if the land's status was general.
The case was rejected and also dismissed by the Māori Appellant Court before it was brought to the Court of Appeal, which this month found there was no appropriate legal framework to grant the trust's application.
A Court of Appeal ruling has quashed plans for an urban development project at Te Tumu, one of Tauranga's largest. Photo / George Novak
In its decision, the Court of Appeal stated that of the 276 owners who voted on whether the status change was needed, 223 were in support, 49 were opposed and four were undecided. However, 103 advised the Māori Land Court they opposed the applications.
The decision stated a section of Te Ture Whenua Māori Act 1993 specifies an objective to "protect minority interests in any land against an oppressive majority and to protect majority interests in the land against an unreasonable minority".
A change in status of Māori freehold land to general land was a significant step because it took the land beyond the jurisdiction of the Māori Land Court, it stated.
The decision referred to the Māori Appellate Court's ruling that stated it could "find no mechanism in this legislation to permit the change of status of part of a block of Māori freehold land to General land".
Although the Court of Appeal did not agree with all of the Māori Appellate Court's findings, "we nevertheless conclude that the Court was correct ... "
The Court of Appeal also agreed the Māori Land Court did not have jurisdiction to make a status order conditional on the issue of a separate title.
"The trustees cannot proceed with the application to change the status of the land until a new title exists for the 55.48ha block," the decision stated.
In September, Tauranga City Council's commission notified the Government it was unable to meet its housing expectations. The letter signalled the city was heading for a shortfall of 1119 homes within the next three years, despite 3188 new homes expected to be built in that time.
The letter warned this shortfall could hit 5000 homes if there were further delays in releasing land for development at Tauriko and Te Tumu.
Tauranga City Council chief executive Marty Grenfell. Photo / NZME
Council chief executive Marty Grenfell said he and his team had always believed alternative solutions would be the answer to this "rather than the adversarial legal process".
"We are confident that there are alternative options that we are encouraging the trust to proceed with in order to achieve the development outcomes that the city needs and also to meet the aspirations and needs of the trust and its beneficiaries," he said.
Grenfell would not specify what these options were, saying this was a matter for the land's owners to discuss and explore themselves. However, he was more encouraged rather than disappointed by the Court of Appeal's decision.
"We have been working with that trust prior to that Māori Land Court ruling on a range of different options. [This new decision] makes us pursue this and advance this in a more meaningful way."
