A Mission Bay couple has won a legal battle against the UK Government, who sold them their home.
A couple who bought the former residence of the British consul-general in Mission Bay without being told of neighbours' plans to build a mansion next door have won a two-year legal battle with the British government.
Pensioners Tony and Sue Norrington bought the Tudor-style property in the upmarket Auckland suburb
in 2005 for $1.7 million.
The previous occupant, former consul-general Stephen Turner, failed to tell them he had given neighbours the green light to build along the boundary of their property.
The Norringtons say they only found out when they came home one day in October 2007 to find a neighbour had removed the hedge separating their properties.
They later found Turner had used the official seal of the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office to sign off on the plans, just weeks before retiring from the consulate in April 2005.
In a statement to the court, Tony, a 68-year-old retired business owner, said: "There is no way we would have purchased (the property) had we been aware of the resource consent application."
He said they had been forced to live next to a "virtual dump" for more than two years and relations with the neighbours had become strained.
The "intolerable stress" took a severe toll on his health, and doctors recently found a cancerous tumour on his kidney. He faces surgery this month.
After 2 years of legal wrangling, the case last week reached the Auckland District Court, where Tony laid bare the couple's suffering.
He told the judge: "I personally curse the day that we moved to Dudley Rd. The ambience of our home has been desperately damaged because our living area is alongside a virtual dump which can be seen from all of our lounge windows, the front bedroom and our stairwell.
"The effect has been intolerable stress, domestic disharmony, ill health, severe financial loss in bringing these issues to law and the prospect of having to sell up and move on.
"This dispute has also caused great friction between Sue and I due to stress, worry and lack of sleep."
After a four-day hearing, the couple were awarded $100,000 plus court costs.
Sue, a 66-year-old retired real estate agent, said outside court: "The UK Government tried to use delaying tactics to make the legal process so expensive for us that we would eventually give up.
"We moved out here from Britain 46 years ago but I have no allegiance to that country any more."
The honorary Consul-General, John Waugh, said the consulate had been unaware of plans to build next door to the Dudley Rd property. They were considering their options and would not comment further.
The couple also brought a civil case against the neighbours. It was due to be heard alongside the main case against the British Government but a confidential settlement was reached at the last minute.
Tony, an accomplished painter, was also critical of real estate agents Barfoot & Thompson for failing to produce a document crucial to his case until two weeks before the trial.
Barfoot's customer relations manager Max House said a "genuine attempt" had been made to find a copy of the Norringtons' auction bidding record. It could not be located because a staff member had been on maternity leave.
Turner is believed to be in Australia and could not be contacted. But questions remain as to why the career diplomat approved the development, as numerous real estate experts said it reduced the value of the property.
He was educated in Croydon, South London, and worked across the globe, with postings in Malaysia, Indonesia, the US and Malta during a 40-year career with the British foreign service. Turner retired and moved to Australia in 2005.
The four-bedroom, two-storey property was bought by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office for $250,000 in 1983 for the consul-general, the UK's trade representative in New Zealand.
