Resource consent lodged for proposed development at Wellington's Shelly Bay

The resource consent for a development at Shelly Bay will be considered irrespective of any land ownership issues. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Fresh resource consent has been lodged for a proposed development at Wellington's Shelly Bay.

This is after the Court of Appeal quashed Wellington City Council's decision granting resource consents for the significant project.

The new consent will be assessed by independent commissioners; something the court told the council to consider given the extent to which it had defended its original decision.

Wellington City Council has confirmed those commissioners are Gary Rae, Helen Atkins and Ray O'Callaghan.

The plan for the bay is to build about 300 homes, a boutique hotel and a village green.
It also leaves the door open for an aged-care facility, microbrewery, restaurants, office space and cafes.

The controversial development has attracted a lot of attention in the lead-up to the new consent being lodged, with somewhat of a keyboard battle between film-maker Sir Peter Jackson and developer Ian Cassels of the Wellington Company.

Jackson has also penned several personal attacks on mayor Justin Lester and his leadership.

Meanwhile, city councillors have been relatively quiet about the whole thing since they were told to be careful what they say in case of further litigation.

In a decision released in December last year the Court of Appeal found Wellington City Council made an error of law in its interpretation and application of a section of the Housing Accords and Special Housing Areas Act [HASHAA] when determining whether to grant resource consent.

As a result, matters such as the environmental effects of the proposed development weren't given appropriate consideration by council.

The developer's lawyers have attached a letter to the fresh consent application.

Gibson Sheat partner Finn Collins said only the council's assessment of that particular section of HASHAA needed to be reconsidered.

"As a result, the Wellington Company does not submit a new application but provides updated information to enable its existing application to be reconsidered in accordance with the guidance given by the Court."

The application for resource consent comes amid looming legal action from a group within local iwi who claim the land should never have been sold to developers in the first place.

Wellington City Council has confirmed that as a regulator it must consider all resource applications submitted to it, irrespective of any land ownership issues.

Who are the commissioners?

Helen Atkins is an environment and local government law specialist. She is a member of the Environmental Protection Authority's hazardous substances and new organisms committee.

Gary Rae has experience in resource management, including environmental and transportation planning, and social impact assessments. He was previously a regional planner for Transit New Zealand.

Ray O'Callaghan has worked as a senior professional engineer for more than 30 years. He is experienced in Resource Management Act matters and has presented expert witness evidence to hearings.