A seawall in front of Anna Mowbray and Ali Williams' house in Westmere. Photo / Alex Burton
A seawall in front of Anna Mowbray and Ali Williams' house in Westmere. Photo / Alex Burton
Ex-All Black Ali Williams and billionaire Anna Mowbray are in a dispute with Auckland Council over seawall works at their $24 million property.
The couple has spent several years developing their property in Westmere, one of Auckland’s most expensive suburbs, after demolishing the home that stood on the waterfront site.
The construction at the property has included work on a seawall, which the council issued three abatement notices over on February 19. One notice ordered the pair to stop any more reclamation of coastal marine area, the council said.
Mowbray on Friday afternoon told the Herald that all three abatement notices had been lifted. The couple had sought to legalise any unconsented works under a section of the Resource Management Act, she said.
Late yesterday, a council spokesperson said it was aware the owners were in the process of lodging this bid but officials were yet to receive it. Once the bid was received, the abatement notices would go on hold.
If the council accepted the bid, the abatement notices would be cancelled, the spokesperson said.
“If it is declined, the abatement notices will no longer be on hold, and the owners will need to comply with the notice.”
The three abatement notices ordered the couple to stop any more reclamation of the coastal marine area, submit the “as-built plans” for the seawall, and submit an arborist completion report.
Before the Herald contacted Mowbray, council environmental monitoring manager Robert Laulala said the owners must remove part of the seawall not covered by their resource consent.
“The seawall was consented to be behind a small boat shed situated on the foreshore, but the completed seawall was situated in front.
“There is also a potential additional occupation and reclamation by the seawall along the northwestern side of the site. This is currently being assessed by the council,” he said.
Laulala said the owners had submitted “as-built plans” of the completed seawall, which are under review. The plans confirm whether the works comply with the resource consent.
Anna Mowbray and Ali Williams' home is situated on a coastal headland in Westmere. Photo / Alex Burton
The arborist completion report had been submitted and compliance with the notice was achieved on February 27, he said.
In 2021, the couple spent $24m buying the Westmere property, previously owned by film director Andrew Adamson.
Plans for a helicopter at the pair’s waterfront home have also caused a stir, and a hearing has been set over five days in May to consider the resource consent application.
Nearly 1400 submissions were received last year, of which 91% of submitters were opposed.
The project was publicly notified after duty commissioner Mark Farnsworth said the resource consent application – a non-complying activity in the residential zone – would have potentially cumulative effects on the environment.
Quiet Sky Waitematā, a group formed to oppose the use of private helicopters in residential areas, is concerned about the impact of the helipad on the delicate nature of the foreshore’s ecosystem, including birds in the area.
