Council charged $100,000 for blocking Waiheke airfield revamp

Plans to develop the airstrip have angered some locals who wanted to protect Waiheke's environment and lifestyle from large developments. Photo / Herald on Sunday

The Auckland Regional Council has been ordered to pay almost $100,000 to a developer after the Environment Court said it went out of its way to stop an airfield being revamped on Waiheke Island.

Waiheke Island Airpark Resort Ltd was awarded $97,133.34 after it won a case allowing it to build 26 visitor accommodation units, 11 single aircraft hangars, a terminal building and coffee shop on a ridge near Onetangi.

Some islanders opposed the development but an environment group and two local families withdrew their opposition before the case went to court.

Judge Laurie Newhook said the regional council should not have refused permission for the water and soil permits needed to allow the facility to go ahead.

And he said the council behaved unreasonably after it appealed against a decision by the Auckland City Council to allow the development, which is next to Whakanewha Regional Park.

In a highly critical decision, he said the regional council's behaviour "smacked of taking a position of placing all obstacles in the path of the applicant".

But that may not be the end of the matter. Regional council chief executive Peter Winter said the council was considering taking an appeal against the costs award to the High Court.

Developer Neil Greer said forcing him to go to the Environment Court had added an incredible burden to an already hugely expensive process.

He was delighted the company had won back part of the $227,242 it had spent on lawyers and experts.

Mr Winter said the judge's decision to award costs to the developer was odd because it seemed to penalise the council for refusing permission in the first place - something he said the judge was not allowed to do under the Resource Management Act.

Hearings about developments are deemed to start over again when they go to the Environment Court.

In a written decision dated March 24, Judge Newhook said the regional council took an "unreasonable approach" to the appeals.

He said the original decision to say no to water and soil permits was relevant because that was when the regional council began to treat the proposal unfairly.

The decision was an unusual slap on the wrist for a regional council, which is required by law to handle major soil and water decisions.

Judge Newhook criticised evidence from the regional council's landscape and planning experts as seriously deficient.

And he said the witnesses had resisted answering questions during cross-examination before making "forced and grudging" concessions.

Mr Winter said the council was worried about putting such a large, urban-style development in an open, rural area next to a regional park.

Plans to develop the airstrip have angered some locals who wanted to protect Waiheke's environment and lifestyle from large developments.

Environmental group the Gulf District Plan Association and the Vickery and Pannett families opposed the city council's decision allowing the development but dropped their appeals before the court hearing, leaving the regional council to carry on alone.

The court granted permission to develop the resort in February.

Mr Greer said he hoped to start marketing the development in the next few months, with building possibly starting this year.