Property Owner Wins Dispute Over Expansion Plans

Friday, 31 January 2025, 8:38 pm
Article: Emily Ireland - Local Democracy Reporter

After a years-long battle to expand an office space in Martinborough, a new ruling shows the council had no grounds to refuse the consent.

In December 2021, the owner of a Jellicoe St property applied for a building consent to renovate and extend the commercial part of the building and change shared internal walls between the building’s commercial and residential spaces.

A recent determination from the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment showed South Wairarapa District Council repeatedly asked the owner to apply for a “change of use” for the building and would not accept the consent unless this was done.

But the building owner maintained the proposed building work did not constitute a change of use and said the council “refused to accept the application”, triggering a back-and forth over two years.

Lead determinations specialist Peta Hird found in favour of the building owner.

Although the owner had ultimately chosen to withdraw the building consent application, Hird said there were no grounds for the council’s “purported refusal” based on the premise the building would undergo a change of use.

The Jellico St building was built in the 1930s and was currently divided into two interconnected parts: a two-bedroom unit with separate kitchen, bathroom, and living room; and a commercial space with storage area.

The commercial space was currently used as an office for a Wairarapa architectural company.

The council said they believed there was a change of use because the original use prior to 1991 was as a home business.

However, the owner said the building had been mixed commercial-residential use for more than 20 years.

In 1985, permitted alterations were carried out to expand the commercial space and it had not been reverted back to residential since then.

The council also submitted that the residential unit would not have complied with means of escape from fire provisions.

But the owner said the council’s approach did not allow for the ‘as nearly as is reasonably practicable’ test.

Hird found in favour of the owner.

– LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.

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