Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) has been ordered by the Environment Court to pay company Tussock Rise more than $120,000 in costs. 

It is the second time costs have been awarded to Tussock Rise, following a long-running dispute with the council over the zoning of a 9.3-hectare property the developer purchased in 2016.

Tussock Rise part-owner Grant Bisset told the Wānaka App this week he was "delighted with the court’s decision and that this nine-year process has come to an end".

“We were determined not to leave Wānaka a legacy of heavy industrial land with the associated heavy traffic in such a central and elevated location.

"This matter has been through two court processes and we have been awarded costs both times."

Tussock Rise first applied for a private plan change in 2016 to rezone the land from Industrial B to Business Mixed Use, an application which QLDC rejected. 

Later, when QLDC notified stage three of the Proposed District Plan, it proposed to rezone an area including the Tussock Rise land to a General Industrial Zone.

Tussock Rise lodged an Environment Court appeal against this, which QLDC applied to have struck out - claiming it was “frivolous or vexatious” - but the Environment Court rejected this, and ruled in favour of Tussock Rise, awarding $5,000 in costs.

When the substantive Environment Court hearing was held, the court ultimately sided with Tussock Rise, enabling a more flexible rezoning for the site.

The recent application for costs followed this, and in a judgement on June 18, Environment Court judge PA Steven said she was satisfied there “were special circumstances in this case that justify an award of costs”.

Tussock Rise land looking north on Gordon Road. PHOTO: Wānaka App

She was also satisfied that “higher than normal costs are justified” in this case.

The judge said she agreed with Tussock Rises’s legal counsel’s submission that the council had “advanced arguments without merit and evidential support” and some of QLDC’s actions during the hearing demonstrated “disregard for due process”.

QLDC told the Wānaka App this week it was “disappointed in the outcome relating to the cost decision and remain disappointed with the overall outcome”.

“We've lost important and easily accessible industrial land that was anticipated to meet Wānaka's long term growth needs,” a spokesperson said.

Grant disagreed with QLDC’s statement and he said the council’s modelling had shown sufficient capacity for all business land uses through to 2048.

“The QLDC’s desire to funnel heavy industrial traffic into central Wānaka is perplexing,” he said. 

“The court’s position clearly vindicates [Tussock Rises’s] view that heavy industrial activities are inappropriate in the elevated centre of a resort town adjacent to residential areas.”