Pak’n'Save Wairau - High Court Hearing Begins

News release

3 February 2009

Pak’n'Save Wairau - High Court Hearing Begins

Foodstuffs (Auckland) Limited’s commitment to open a PAK’nSAVE on Wairau Road on Auckland’s North Shore continues tomorrow (4 February 2009) when the High Court will hear Progressive’s appeal against the decision of the Environment Court to grant resource consent for the Wairau Road PAK’nSAVE.

“The High Court will hear from Progressive, North Shore City Council and ourselves over the next two days. Our very strong view, and that of North Shore City Council, is that the Environment Court got it right and resource consent was correctly granted” said Angela Bull, Foodstuffs (Auckland)’s General Manager Property Strategy.

Australian-owned Progressive Enterprises Limited was the only opponent to the PAK’nSAVE when the case was heard in the Environment Court in October 2008. The Environment Court found clearly in Foodstuffs’ favour in its decision, and upheld the granting of resource consents, clearing the way for construction to recommence and Wairau Road PAK’nSAVE to open. The Court’s decision found that there was “a clear consensus among all the economist witnesses that the introduction of a strong competitor into the North Shore supermarket market would be a good thing for consumers, even if its competitors would not welcome it”.

Ms Bull said “We are working as hard as we can to open PAK’nSAVE Wairau Road because we know it is what the people of the North Shore want and will provide over 250 jobs for the community. The ongoing support we have received from people on the North Shore has been outstanding. We are committed to bringing PAK’nSAVE’s policy of New Zealand’s lowest food prices to Wairau Road.”

Required road works and works on the PAK’nSAVE site, which are not in dispute and are not prevented by the High Court appeal, are currently being carried out, with completion of those works expected by the end of March. “We are carrying out these works over the summer period to minimise disruption to North Shore residents and maximise our ability to open the store as soon as we can once the High Court makes its decision” said Ms Bull.

Foodstuffs applied for a fully notified consent in June 2007, and more than 1000 people registered their support for the store. The combined North Shore City Council and Auckland Regional Council consent hearing was held in November 2007 and resource consent to open the PAK’nSAVE was granted in January 2008. Australian-owned Progressive Enterprises then appealed the decision of the North Shore City Council to the Environment Court, preventing the store from opening.

ENDS

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