Former Mayor Meng Foon defies district council

An uncompleted seawall in front of the campground at Tatapouri, north of Gisborne, has former race relations commissioner Meng Foon in hot water with the district council. Picture by Liam Clayton

Unconsented work on a Gisborne foreshore undertaken by former mayor Meng Foon has been halted by the district council he once represented.

But the man at the centre of the action has confirmed he continued for several weeks after initially being told to stop.

On August 25, Mr Foon began constructing a retaining wall at the front of the Tatapouri Bay Oceanside Accommodation, which he owns with wife Ying Foon under company M Y Gold Investments Ltd.

Mr Foon said the work addressed erosion caused by Cyclone Gabrielle and protected two large trees that were at risk of becoming dangerous.

It kicked off after a funding request to Gisborne District Council for post-cyclone support was never responded to, he said.

Gisborne District Council refutes that claim. It says the only contact its resource consent team had with Mr Foon following the cyclone was for a water renewal consent to supply the campground.

Mr Foon said he began constructing the wall because he genuinely thought he was within his legal rights to do so.

“After consulting with our consultants, we were sure we were within our property rights to erect a retaining wall to ensure no more land is eroded. The retaining wall is outside of the coastal marine area (and) the retaining wall is 10 metres within our surveyed boundary.”

Local Democracy Reporting has obtained an email which shows the council asked for construction to halt during a site visit on August 31 — within one week of the project starting. But Mr Foon opted to continue on the back of legal advice which said council needed to tell him what he was in breach of.

From September 20, construction was on hold while he travelled to Nepal to hike to Everest Base Camp.

It wasn’t until October 6 that an abatement notice was issued — at which time he was still out of the country.

Mr Foon maintains the wall was under the height required for consent and is disappointed it took the council so long to issue the formal notice.

“I think 38 days is too slow.”

Te Rūnanganui o Ngāti Porou was advised of the project, along with adjacent Māori landowners Pouawa A1, he said.

Mr Foon also said the council’s previous realignment of the seawall at the Tatapouri carpark had redirected waves on to his property.

He was engaging outside help to obtain resource consent from the council for the continuation of the work.

In response to questions, the council did not address the seawall alignment but said it was made aware of Mr Foon’s construction at the end of August through a request for service from a member of the public.

Council sustainable futures director Joanna Noble said compliance staff visited the site and provided advice to Mr Foon before an abatement notice was issued under the Resource Management Act 1991.

The notice was to cease land disturbance and structure installation within 200 metres of mean high water springs, which is essentially the high tide mark.

The council would not provide any information about the discussions it had with Mr Foon and his contractors prior to issuing the abatement notice because the matter was the subject of an active investigation.

Mr Foon served as Gisborne mayor for 18 years from 2001 to 2019.

Following his tenure, he became New Zealand’s race relations commissioner, but resigned from the role in June 2023 after failing to disclose a conflict of interest.