Kaitaia water pipeline: Council prepared to use compulsory land acquisition

Mayor John Carter tells Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern about his council's partnership with Te Rarawa to supply Kaitaia with water earlier this year. Now the council is looking for a permanent solution

Far North District Council will use compulsory acquisition if necessary to access land needed for a waterpipe to supply Kaitaia.

The council has released its decision on accessing land required for a water pipeline from a bore at Sweetwater and says it will use compulsory acquisition if needed.

The decision, made at an extraordinary meeting earlier this month, was released on Wednesday, with the council saying it had investigated options to provide Kaitaia with a more resilient water supply for a number of years.

Two separate reports had identified the Sweetwater bore as the most viable source. The bore was on privately owned land, but a subdivision and separate titles had been agreed to, and transfer to council ownership was in its final stages.

A 13.5km pipeline needs to be laid to connect the bore to the Kaitaia treatment plant for the $16.7 million project. The waterpipe is needed to give Kaitaia - which saw water tanks installed during this year's drought after the Awanui River almost dried up - a more secure water supply

Easements were required for the security and maintenance of that pipeline, and agreement in principle had been reached with all landowners except one, Elbury Holdings Ltd.

Final agreement with the other affected landowners was contingent on the final route through the Elbury Holdings property.

Councillors had reviewed several different route options, the one chosen representing the best value for the ratepayer in that it was the shortest, while aligning with fences and boundaries identified by Elbury Holdings.

The council clearly believed, however, that the time for negotiating was over, its statement noting that Section 181 of Schedule 12 of the Local Government Act gave councils powers to construct or undertake works on private land without the landowner's consent.

"This is an extraordinary power that needs to be exercised with caution, after all reasonable endeavours to negotiate in good faith have been exhausted or matters of public health and safety are such that prolonged and frustrated negotiations are proving to be barriers to enable the delivery of urgently required public infrastructure works," it added.

"While the council is sympathetic to Elbury Holdings Ltd's situation, ultimately it considered the correct legal processes had been followed, and that as a critical public safety investment project, the Kaitaia Water Project cannot be further delayed. The council accepts the works are required, and are to proceed."

Elbury Holdings had 14 days from the date of the decision to lodge an appeal in the District Court, whose decision would be final and binding. No further appeals would be available.