Northland company ordered to remove unauthorised Bay of Islands structures

Johnson Bros Limited's unauthorised pontoon in the Poukoura Inlet. Photo / supplied by NRC

The Environment Court has ordered a Northland marine engineering and dredging company to remove unauthorised structures from a Bay of Islands inlet.

Johnson Brothers ignored Northland Regional Council’s (NRC) requests for the removal of a finger pontoon, wooden pile, and three large rubber fenders from Poukoura Inlet so last December the council issued an abatement notice.

The company applied to the Environment Court for a stay of the notice, which was granted pending a hearing to decide whether it was valid and if it should be confirmed or modified.

Johnson Brothers’ legal challenge was heard during March but was unsuccessful.

Presiding Judge Jeff Smith upheld the council’s decision to issue the notice and ordered the company to comply.

Johnson Brothers’ managing director Andrew Johnson was critical of the NRC.

He told the Northern Advocate the issues in the case affected how the company and others do their job on a daily basis.

“Council compliance driven by over-zealous bureaucratic decision-making is grinding small local industries out of existence,” Johnson claimed.

“Given the nature of what was being alleged by the council, we felt we had no option but to challenge the compliance premise being put forward.”

A senior NRC enforcement officer noticed unauthorised structures while flying overhead on his way to inspect nearby oyster farms.

A closer view of one of the unauthorised piles and rubber fenders at Teachers Landing.

The court was told during 2023 the harbourmaster allowed Johnson Brothers to temporarily install two wooden piles at Teachers Landing, which the company was leasing, to steady a barge it was loading with rocks for a nearby job constructing a client’s seawall.

The company was supposed to remove the piles after the job was completed but piles remained there for at least 12 months more.

A senior NRC enforcement officer being flown to inspect oyster farms spotted the piles at the landing in March last year along with a finger pontoon and three rubber fenders.

Although the reclamation for the landing had a resource consent, the NRC considered the structures were unauthorised, the Environment Court was told.

An investigation revealed the pontoon had been moved but was still in an unauthorised location.

NRC said the pontoon was potentially a navigation hazard. At each location, the pontoon was close to a channel used as an access to other facilities.

NRC said it had no option but to issue the abatement notice to Johnson Brothers because the company failed to act on earlier warnings.

Johnson Brothers Limited moved its pontoon to another unauthorised location after it was first spotted at Teachers Landing (behind) by a regional council enforcement officer in March 2024. Photo / NRC

The yellow elipses in this aerial view show Teachers Landing, where the unauthorised structures were originally spotted and an unauthorised position to the west of the landing where the pontoon was later moved.

NRC group manager - regulatory services Colin Dall told the Northern Advocate the council was pleased with the outcome of the court hearing.

“The decision acts as a good reminder to everyone who places structures in the coastal marine area that they either need to comply with the relevant rules in the Proposed Regional Plan for Northland that permit the placement of structures or obtain the necessary resource consent from the council.”

In court, Johnson Brothers’ counsel Rowan Ashton pointed to the harbourmaster’s earlier permission for the piles.

Ashton questioned the validity of the abatement notice, noting it had not been issued under the correct section of the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA).

The court agreed but said it was not material to its overall finding.

Ashton also raised technical arguments as to whether the structures met the definition of “structures” under the RMA and disputed the claims they posed a significant navigational risk or would likely have an adverse environmental effect.

Ashton said the company did not act on an email about the structures, sent to it on October 25, last year, due to a staff member’s failure to forward it to Johnson.

Judge Smith said the remaining pile – one had been earlier removed as requested – could stay in place pending the outcome of a retrospective resource consent application for it. That consent has since been granted.

Johnson Brothers is involved in significant marine projects throughout New Zealand. It is also leading globally important Northland-based initiatives targeting caulerpa, some of which have been funded by NRC and the Government.

Sarah Curtis is a general news reporter for the Northern Advocate. She has nearly 20 years’ experience in journalism, most spent court reporting in Gisborne and on the East Coast. She is passionate about covering stories that make a difference, especially those involving environmental issues.