Fore World Developments Limited v Napier City Council

COURT OR TRIBUNAL

Environment Court of New Zealand

DATE FILED (OR FIRST HEARING DATE)

13/04/2006

LITIGATION TYPE

Project Approval - Adaptation

SUBJECT MATTER

Sea level rise

REVIEW TYPE

Merits review

SUMMARY

Excerpt from judgment

[1] These three proceedings, heard together, concern three pieces of land on the coastline at the settlement of Bay View, north of Napier. At the time the proceedings were begun they were owned by Fore World Developments Limited and Bayside Villas Limited. Parts of one of the pieces of land have since been sold but, with the possible exception of part of the application under s85, that is largely irrelevant to the matters we have to resolve. It is convenient, if not entirely accurate, to describe the applicants/appellants as Fore World.

[2] Fore World's core motivation in all of this is the wish to develop the land as medium density residential subdivisions. Much summarised, Fore World wishes to have the land zoned Main Residential so that it can be subdivided with lot sizes of the order of 400m2. It has confirmation that services such as water, power and telecommunications are available. With some reservations both Councils accept that, from an engineering perspective, satisfactory stormwater and sewage management could be provided. Stormwater could go to the sea and one of the pieces of land could accommodate a sewage treatment and disposal field for the houses on other sites. The City Council does however have issues from a planning and management perspective with the stormwater and sewage proposals and we shall mention those in due course. Of more immediate concern to it is the possibility of coastal erosion damaging the land and structures erected on it. These issues have been live between the parties for some years and have already resulted in other proceedings before this Court.

CASE DOCUMENTS

Fore World Developments Limited v Napier City Council W029/2006 [2006] NZEnvC 120