
Claim councillors 'kept in dark' over cycleway
All three members of the Dunedin City Council's hearings committee — which heard from submitters and voted through a proposal on the Albany St Connection project — say they were not informed of the legal rationale to re-consult on the project.
"I still don't know what it's about," Cr Mandy Mayhem said yesterday.
"Completely in the dark about why there was anything wrong with the first time round."
Deputy mayor Cherry Lucas said the hearings committee asked staff if all businesses and property owners affected by the project had been approached, and had been reassured they were.
Staff had even gone door-to-door.
"I'm not sure why this has taken so long."
The council announced last week it had reintroduced nine carparks to the project's design and public consultation would take place until August 7 regarding suggested parking restrictions.
The project aims to provide a safe walking and cycling connection between the shared Te Aka Ōtākou harbour path, Dunedin's tertiary area and the CBD.
Crs Mayhem and Lucas, along with chairman Cr Jim O'Malley, were members of the hearings committee who, in late 2023, voted 2-1 to proceed with a proposal for the project which would have removed 68 carparks in the area.
But a transport report, tabled ahead of an infrastructure services committee meeting in April last year, said some property owners and local businesses had raised concern about the consultation.
Initial legal advice was the consultation process was "potentially open to challenge" and re-consultation would be "prudent", the report said.
Cr O'Malley said he had not seen the legal opinion and did not know what it was based on, which was "exceptionally extraordinary".
He did not believe the consultation process was "flawed" and said there had not been any need for re-consultation.
"I believe that everybody was informed.
"It was publicly notified, we had hearings, there was a huge amount of support for what was there.
"What was not supported was the businesses that wanted those parks back.
"Lo and behold — now the parks are back."
Council transport group manager Jeanine Benson said the legal advice was given verbally to staff, who were advised the initial consultation process could expose the council to "a risk of judicial review in the High Court".
"This followed concerns raised by an Albany St property owner that they had not been properly consulted during initial consultation and that they were considering legal proceedings as a result.
"An assessment was made that re-consultation would be a better use of ratepayer funds than potentially significant litigation costs."
Offering a version of events that differed from the one provided by Cr O'Malley, Ms Benson said Dunedin Mayor Jules Radich and Cr O'Malley were both briefed on the legal advice by council chief executive Sandy Graham in the week before last April's committee meeting.
The procurement process was still on track to start this month and construction to begin in November, she said.
tim.scott@odt.co.nz

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Otago Daily Times
29 minutes ago
- Otago Daily Times
Bath St upgrade moving on to next stage
Road surface work is the next phase of an upgrade in Bath St, central Dunedin. The most complex part of the project, replacing old underground pipes, has been completed. PHOTO: GERARD O'BRIEN The pipes have been installed in Dunedin's Bath St and the focus of an upgrade there has shifted to work above ground. All the planned Three Waters infrastructure work had been completed in the central city street as designed, the Dunedin City Council said. The programme included replacing underground pipes from the 19th century that had deteriorated badly. A water course was piped in about 1887 to allow development of the area, but there were risks of the pipe collapsing, a sinkhole forming and flooding. Ongoing maintenance costs were high, the council said. Senior project manager Susil Gunathilake said the upgrade was a complex project being delivered in challenging conditions. "With the highest-risk component now resolved, we remain on track to meet the latest timeframes and budget," he said. Two minor defects in new pipe connections were identified as part of the quality assurance process. "This is a normal part of any big project and remedying them will require only small excavations to provide access," Mr Gunathilake said. "Repairs are expected to be straightforward." A defects period applied and this meant problems could be identified and remedied by the contractor at no expense to the council. "Other than the standard defects period, work to install the new Three Waters infrastructure is now complete and we're progressing streetscape works above ground as planned," Mr Gunathilake said. "Our contractors will be able to rectify the defects identified while work on the roading upgrade continues." In September last year, the council highlighted a change of plan was necessary because of challenges that included unidentified utilities, some existing where they had not been expected to be located, archaeological finds and unexpected issues with the 326 Moray Pl building under which a pipe was being laid. The project began in April last year and is due to be completed by November.


Otago Daily Times
29 minutes ago
- Otago Daily Times
Farmer to have case considered
Invercargill city councillors will next week consider whether a Tisbury poultry farmer will be compensated for the loss of income and distress caused by a nearby housing development. In May, during the public forum of the council's community wellbeing and regulatory committee McNeill's Poultry Farm owner Nigel Hewitson outlined his troubles with a new housing development near his farm. He said since September last year the vibrations and noise from the housing development had stressed the 5000 hens on his Tisbury poultry farm. The hens lost their appetite, their condition, became more aggressive towards each other and egg production dropped. Mr Hewitson said he did not know how the development had gained planning consent without him being identified as an affected party and thought the council was at fault. Council consenting and environment general manager Jonathan Shaw was asked to prepare a report. In his report tabled at Tuesday's community wellbeing and regulatory committee meeting, Mr Shaw said while Mr Hewitson believed he should have been identified as an affected party, the application did not breach the district plan and therefore he was not an affected party. While it was obvious Mr Hewitson had been affected by the development, for the purpose of the consent he was not. Mr Hewitson sought a High Court injunction against the developer to mitigate the impacts to his operation which was issued in January. In his findings High Court Justice Jonathan Eaton noted the council consents and the work was being carried out according to the consent conditions. The council was not a party to the injunction and no concerns were raised by Justice Eaton about the actions of the council, the report said. The High Court ruling imposed stricter limits on noise and vibration than those set in the District Plan and the council had no authority to monitor or enforce the injunction. Mr Shaw had reviewed the conversations Mr Hewitson had with staff and concluded record keeping could be improved. There was also a delay in Mr Shaw being updated by staff about the situation. There were now protocols in place to ensure interactions with the public are recorded and matters are brought before senior management as required. Cr Ian Pottinger said it was clear that Mr Hewitson was an affected party and asked what staff had done to help when he approached them. Mr Shaw said the district plan did not not have any provisions to deal with the issues. Mr Pottinger said section 17 of the Resource Management Act (RMA) stated there was a duty to avoid, remedy, or mitigate any adverse effect on the environment arising from an activity and asked who in this case was responsible to do this. Mr Shaw said his understanding was the applicant and the local authority was responsible. However, at the time the resource consent was approved, those effects were seen to be less than minor. Mr Hewitson attended the meeting and afterwards said he thought the system was "unjust". It seemed getting the consent conditions right on paper was more important than the real impact it had on people, he said. Legislation was there to protect people and their properties. "Where's my protection?" After the meeting, council chief executive Michael Day said the question of compensation was discussed in committee, behind closed doors.


NZ Herald
11 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Du Val founders will continue to have assets frozen and passports held by court
Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech. Du Val founders will continue to have assets frozen and passports held by court Kenyon Clarke, one of the founders of Du Val. Photo / Supplied By Rowan Quinn of RNZ The founders of the collapsed Du Val companies will continue to have their assets frozen and their passports held by the court, the High Court has ruled. Du Val is in statutory management, owing more than $300 million, and its main owners, Charlotte and Kenyon Clarke, are in receivership, with a preservation order on their assets. The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) obtained the interim order last August and the couple fought back against that at a hearing last month but the court has agreed with the FMA. In laying out the background to her decision, Justice Anderson said the High Court had the ability under the Financial Markets Conduct Act to make a range of protective orders for the benefit of 'aggrieved persons'.