The end of Wellington’s Shelly Bay saga is not cause for celebration

An artist's impression of the proposed development at Shelly Bay.

OPINION

The end of the Shelly Bay saga is not cause for celebration but is instead emblematic of a wider problem Wellington is facing - an incredibly strong resistance to change.

Land that was earmarked for a $500 million development with 350 new homes has been sold to famous filmmaker Sir Peter Jackson and his partner Dame Fran Walsh.

The area will be “returned to its natural state”.

Over the weekend, many people in the capital celebrated.

“Thank you Fran & Peter” was spraypainted in red on the side of a building in Kilbirnie.

The admins of my local Miramar community Facebook group informed followers they were looking to arrange a thank you card for Jackson and Walsh for “saving” Shelly Bay.

When I purchased some books from a second-hand store in town, the person behind the counter proclaimed what a good day for Wellington it was.

There was also grief.

Grief that 350 new homes would no longer be built in the middle of a housing crisis, including affordable housing planned for iwi.

Shelly Bay is one of the most misunderstood developments.

It has been boiled down to a battle between Ian Cassels, who has been characterised as a big bad developer, and the will of the people.

But try thinking of it another way.

Taranaki Whānui is at the heart of the Shelly Bay saga and it’s astounding the number of people who have tried to control what iwi do on a piece of land purchased with Tiriti o Waitangi settlement money.

In 2009 Taranaki Whānui, via the Port Nicholson Block Settlement Trust (PNBST), used about half of its $25m settlement money to purchase land at Shelly Bay.

The decision ended up being an anchor around the iwi’s neck.

Shelly Bay has divided an iwi. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Taranaki Whānui found itself asset-rich but cash-poor and Shelly Bay has sat there rotting ever since it was purchased.

A development proposal in partnership with The Wellington Company presented a way out and the land was sold to Cassels.

It was an opportunity for Taranaki Whānui to get a return on their investment to provide better education, health, housing, and employment for uri (descendants).

The deal would eventually include all of the commercial assets at Shelly Bay, like any hospitality or retail offerings, remaining in Taranaki Whānui ownership.

There were plans for a minimum of 15 affordable houses exclusively for uri, as well as a first right of refusal to buy into the development when people decided to sell up.

Discussions were also under way about Taranaki Whānui’s vision for a cultural centre or wharenui at the development, to be located right by the water.

But a group within Taranaki Whānui, called Mau Whenua, challenged whether that land should have been sold to Cassels.

When PNBST made moves to sell the land, it failed to get the necessary 75 per cent majority vote. So it was sold separately in parcels to Cassels as a way around the deal being classified as a major transaction, Mau Whenua alleged.

The group was vocal in its opposition, including legal challenges and a 525-day land occupation, to the point you could be mistaken for thinking their view was the agreed view of the iwi. This must have suited those who opposed the development.

Meanwhile, the PNBST trustees hardly featured in the public narrative, as they considered the Shelly Bay land sale to be a private transaction (which it was) and therefore a private matter.

Last year the two iwi groups finally reached a resolution and started to move forward together.

PNBST chairman Kara Puketapu-Dentice said at the time that the saga had gone on for too long.

“It has distracted us, it has been the thing that has polarised us, and it has been the thing that we have been known for. Some days I have wondered whether we should just change our name to Ngāti Shelly Bay because that’s what everyone thinks, right?”

“Now we can breathe and we are no longer Ngāti Shelly Bay, we are Taranaki Whānui.”

After all the pain of the past few years, everyone in the waka was paddling in the same direction.

Except now there is no development for the iwi to benefit from and they still don’t own the land.

It’s still unclear at this stage how or if Taranaki Whānui fits into the new plan.

Jackson and Walsh had been working under a strict confidentiality agreement since the land was offered to them.

The couple has said they completely understand and respect the cultural significance of the land and are happy to discuss their plans with iwi.

They have also said they have no plans to develop the site, apart from restoring the two buildings already there, and they hope to return the area to its natural state.

And so Shelly Bay gets added to the list of things that have been stopped in Wellington.

The capital has gained a concerning reputation for being resistant to change (this is the city where a pedestrian crossing was taken to court).

Some Wellingtonians seem to have an uncanny ability to stop progress while simultaneously complaining about how the capital is dying.

The Shelly Bay situation makes the battle for the city’s future even more difficult.

It probably leaves those with the money and vision to embark on transformational projects wondering why they’d even bother trying.

Georgina Campbell is a Wellington-based reporter who has a particular interest in local government, transport, and seismic issues. She joined the Herald in 2019 after working as a broadcast journalist.