Napier Council says it consulted properly on new pool

Napier City Council says it consulted in multiple ways over the proposal to close Onekawa Pools and build a new Prebensen Drive complex.

Napier City Council (NCC) gained understanding of its community's wishes over a controversial aquatic centre proposal through a business case and Long Term Plan process, the High Court in Wellington has heard.

The High Court hearing to determine if Napier City Council's consultation process for the new pool complex was adequate had opened on Monday in Wellington, before Justice Karen Clark.

On Monday, the Friends of the Onekawa Aquatic Centre society alleged that the council process was "manifestly inadequate".

On Tuesday, the NCC countered by saying it had consulted through at least two means, once which saw 620 people make submissions during a Long Term Plan (LTP) consultation process.

Lawyer for the council, Padraig McNamara, said council had gained an understanding of the community's wishes around aquatic facilities during a business case in 2017, which showed the community favoured a 50m pool at Onekawa.

However, he submitted that after further information was presented to the council, the community's preferred option, a 50m pool, was no longer reasonably practicable or financially prudent.

He said the community was presented with reasons for not pursuing a 50m pool at Onekawa through the LTP consultation document, and did not need to release further supporting documents, as lawyer for the society, Martin Williams, had argued.

In particular Williams had focused on a report which was not released to the public, which provided the basis for council's decision to veer away from the 50m pool option, due to contamination at the site.

McNamara argued the report did not need to be released as a supporting document in the LTP consultation, as the council was not consulting on a 50m pool at Onekawa.

He also refuted Williams' argument that the public was kept in the dark about the decision to change direction, arguing the new Prebensen Dr proposal was published in a Hawke's Bay Today article and discussed on a local radio station.

He said this showed there were multiple avenues explaining the proposal.

He said the council complied with consultation principles under the Local Government Act, including that the council successfully encouraged stakeholders to submit on the LTP.

He said the council "successfully encouraged" stakeholders to submit on the LTP, with 620 submissions received specifically on the Napier Aquatic Centre.

He argued that until 2010, there were four stages local councils were expect to engage with their communities when it came to plan development, including the assessment and development of options.

However, he said a change to the Local Government Act in 2010 removed these four stages, making the legal requirement for consultation more generic.

It requires local authorities to "in the course of its decision-making process in relation to a matter, give consideration to the views and preferences of persons likely to be affected by, or to have an interest in, the matter".

He said the LTP consultation process was a legally available and appropriate way for the NCC to make a decision.

He said councillors had "intensive briefings", over the options, and the reasons for not including the 50m pool at Onekawa in the LTPP consultation process.

The hearing continues.