Auckland retaining wall stoush: Beachlands homeowner accused of building towering seawall, carting away sand

Two Auckland beachfront homeowners claim a neighbour carted away so much sand while building a towering seawall that they no longer have any beach left, only rocks.

They also claim Ranjit Keshvara left a mess of debris behind and took more than 60sq/m of extra coastal zone by building beyond the property limits of his ex-wife's Beachlands clifftop home in east Auckland.

Then when they complained, Keshvara retaliated against them by dobbing their "smaller" seawalls into Auckland Council for investigation, they claim.

Keshvara's company K4 Group Management was ultimately fined more than $41,000 by the Environment Court for building the 14m-high wall without first seeking building and resource consent.

Keshvara told the Herald he didn't want to comment because he'd paid his fine and was moving on.

The property before the retaining wall was built and shortly after a landslip that damaged stairs and trees. Photo / Supplied

But one beachfront neighbour believed Keshvara's fine was mere "pocket change" for him.

"Can you imagine if everyone that lives on a clifftop property in Auckland was allowed to do what he's done - what our foreshore would look like," the man said.

"It's an abomination."

Keshvara's case comes when many expect landslips and erosion to become increasingly common in coastal areas as the effects of climate change are felt more.

Chief Environment Court Judge David Kirkpatrick said regulations, such as building and resource consents, existed to protect the environment and the public's safety.

However - by building first and seeking permission later - Keshvara had thumbed his nose at the rules, Kirkpatrick said.

That made it important to prosecute Keshvara as a deterrent to others thinking of also skirting or bending the rules, he said.

Construction work underway on Ranjit Keshvara's retaining wall (right). Photo / Supplied

Keshvara's K4 Group Management pleaded guilty to three charges, including one under the Building Act for unconsented building work and two under the Resource Management Act for illegal use of the foreshore.

The company was fined $41,250.

Kirkpatrick did acknowledge that Keshvara had worked constructively with Auckland Council after his illegal building work was discovered.

Keshvara had retrospectively sought all relevant consents and contributed towards Auckland Council's costs of investigating his building work, Kirkpatrick said.

Keshvara decided to build the retaining walls after his ex-wife's Hawke Crescent property suffered two landslips in 2017 and 2018.

The consultants that drew up his plans in 2019 advised Keshvara to get Auckland Council consents for the work, court documents stated.

However, Keshvara didn't do this, arguing he began work immediately because he had been advised there was an imminent risk of further damage to his ex-wife's and neighbour's land and to people's safety, court documents said.

The view towards a neighbouring property further down the foreshore where a ramp was built to access the beach. Photo / Supplie

The same property pictured earlier before the ramp was built. Photo / Supplied

Auckland Council rejected this argument. Keshvara also later accepted that he acted in error by doing that, court documents said.

Keshvara's two neighbours said they'd not heard of anyone else in the area starting such an immense project without permission.

"I believe nobody in Beachlands has ever done such an extensive thing without seeking consent," one of the homeowners said.

"And nobody in Beachlands has ever done such damage to the foreshore and beaches around my property to the extent he has - it's egregious."

The homeowner said Keshvara's wall was an "abomination" that did not match the coastal environment and joked it could be seen from Waiheke Island across the bay.

He said Keshvara also added 63sq/m of land to his ex-wife's property by relocating the 20m-wide seawall 3.14m closer to the water.

A small vehicle involved in the construction of the retaining wall. Neighbours accuse Ranjit Keshvara of dumping rocks and aggregate to avoid getting bogged on the foreshore. Photo / Supplied

The homeowner said it seemed a good deal to pay a $41,000 fine to acquire extra coastal land.

"It would be nice to be buying land around Auckland at that rate," he said.

He and a second neighbouring homeowner were also critical of Auckland Council.

They said Keshvara had placed concrete barriers, rocks, and aggregate along the foreshore while building the wall.

Keshvara was subsequently ordered to remove the material once his works were complete.

Court documents show council's enforcement officers and a "coastal specialist" had been satisfied that Keshvara had done this by mid-last year.

However, the homeowners accused the council of doing a poor job at monitoring Keshvara's clean-up operation.

Building work being undertaken on the retaining wall. Photo / Supplied

They said Keshvara had scarred the foreshore permanently by leaving rocks and debris scattered about and claimed he dug up most of the beach's sand and used it as landfill on a private property.

One of the homeowners said where there had once been a sandy beach that their kids and grandkids played on, there was now only bare sandstone.

They also claimed Keshvara was now retaliating against them because they acted as witnesses in Auckland Council's prosecution of him.

They claimed Keshvara used lawyers to find out that their seawalls did not have up-to-date consents and then reported them to council.

Now both homeowners have been issued abatement notices and must gain council permission for their walls in the next month or two.

But they argued their seawalls were minor structures in comparison to Keshvara's.

One of the seawalls had also had council consent in the past but was now non-compliant because it had been moved slightly, they claimed.

The finished retaining and seawall pictured last week. Photo / Sylvie Whinray

"I think [Keshvara's] got off extremely lightly, he's very lucky," one of the homeowners said.

"Now he's coming after anybody else who helped the council prosecute him and the council is going along with it - I find that amazing."

David Pawson from Auckland Council's Investigations, Licensing & Regulatory Compliance team said council was working with the two homeowners to resolve the issues with their retaining walls.

He said council investigated "all legitimate complaints" made to it.