Auckland Council says it has withdrawn its application in the High Court to liquidate the owner of the abandoned Gulf Harbour Country Club, after receiving payment for unpaid debts totalling more than $25,000.
The Whangaparāoa Peninsula course, which hosted the New Zealand Golf Open in 2005 and 2006, was closed "with immediate effect" in July last year.
The club has since been destroyed by two large fires within three days of each other, which officials said were likely caused by an "incendiary".
On June 20, Auckland Council applied to liquidate Long River Investments Corporation Limited for unpaid rates totalling $18,386.54, which then rose to $25,804.56.
In a statement to 1News yesterday, the council said it had received payment of Long River's unpaid rates.
"Therefore, we will be withdrawing the liquidation application in the High Court [on] Friday, August 16, 2024."
The council said it would seek a costs order against the company of around $3000 for costs related to filing and serving the application, and continued to seek repayment of demolition costs of the club totalling more than $200,000.
Auckland Council chief executive Phil Wilson, who recently wrote to owner Greg Olliver and golf club director Wayne Bailey on July 12 to demand costs be paid back, has not met with the company's director or owners.
At a public meeting at Whangaparāoa College on Thursday evening, hosted by the Keep Whangaparāoa's Green Spaces (KWGS) group, legal adviser Chris Geyde said the strongly-worded letter made it "very, very clear" that Olliver was "between a rock and a hard place".
Geyde said the letter was "absolutely a key step in the right direction", and that KWGS wanted the council to take further enforcement action through the courts.
"The next issue KWGS want to look at is the approximately $220,000 that was spent demolishing the clubhouse following the fire.
"What we are still concerned about is that an application for resource consent could still come through. What we would like the council to do is commence proceedings against Long River, which would effectively result in an injunction or a statutory declaration stating that the encumbrance clearly specifies the golf course land is to be used as a golf course and Country Club."
"So that if they try to make it into anything other than that, Wayne Bailey would be in contempt of court," Geyde said.
Long River submitted a resource consent last year to undertake a "boundary adjustment" which would separate the land into two titles and reduce the size of the land. Long River said it would like to sell part of the land to fund the golf course's redevelopment.
Asked about the status of this application at yesterday's public meeting, Geyde said the commissioner who was asked to review the position on cutting the land in half stated that it needed to be notified.
"What has happened since then is [that] it's gone absolutely quiet, with no further work done by Olliver with regard to that application.
"He's probably realised that's not a winning strategy," he said, which was met with cheers from the crowd.
Albany Ward councillors Wayne Walker and John Watson also attended the meeting, alongside Hibiscus and Bays Local Board members.
Olliver and Bailey have been contacted for comment.
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