Three Auckland beachfront landowners who built seawalls and boat ramps on a public reserve without permission have finally secured retrospective approval, ending a 13-year dispute that has cost ratepayers a "considerable amount" in legal and compliance action.
By Torika Tokalau for Local Democracy Reporting
The Rodney Local Board voted on Wednesday to grant landowner approval for the structures at Point Wells, near Matakana, despite board members criticising the owners for building first and seeking consent later.
“You don’t get to build stuff on someone else’s land without getting permission,” board member Lisa Whyte said, warning the decision should not be seen as encouragement for others to ignore the rules.
The dispute centres on three properties along the Point Wells Foreshore Reserve, where seawalls, boat ramps and other structures were built between 2011 and 2021 without landowner approval from the Rodney Local Board or resource consent from Auckland Council.
The first seawall was constructed in 2011. A second followed in 2014, and a boat ramp was resurfaced three years later. The third landowner built a seawall, boat ramp, access track and groyne between June 2020 and February 2021.
One of the owners, Paul Dale, said he acted because of severe erosion and flooding threatening his property.
“The wall was built urgently in a moment of crisis, we had serious flooding and erosion,” he said.
“It was three pohutukawa trees, one was about to go at risk and so it was done very quickly, and as it turned out, done effectively and a good wall.”
Dale said that had he known the seawall would lead to years of conflict with the council, he would not have bought the property.
“We paid a lot, we paid a real premium for it. At the time people were amazed at how much we paid, but we wanted to be by the sea, and this was our chance so we took the risk.”
After Auckland Council began regulatory compliance action in 2021, the three landowners obtained resource consents for their seawalls. However, they still required landowner approval from the local board because the structures were built on reserve land.
Whyte said she reluctantly supported granting that approval.
“I don’t think we should gloss over the fact that this is a breach, and we wouldn’t want to see it happening in a more widespread manner,” she said.
“I do think it needs to be said that we shouldn’t encourage people to seek forgiveness. We should ensure people follow the proper process before building something on public land.”
Deputy chair Ivan Wagstaff said the board was finally closing an issue that had dragged on for more than a decade.
“Hopefully in the future, people will approach us for approval and support,” he said.
Wagstaff said the dispute had cost ratepayers a considerable amount of money over the 13 years it remained unresolved.
– LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
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