North Shore City media release

Big fines imposed for those who don’t follow the rules
April 3, 2008

Jolyon Brendan Thompson, company director, and four of his companies were today fined a total of $24,000 in the Auckland District Court for failing to comply with Abatement Notices issued by North Shore City Council under the Resource Management Act 1991.

Environment Court Judge Whiting imposed the fines, along with $5,085 in costs for North Shore City Council, and a further $1,040 court costs.

North Shore City’s compliance and monitoring team leader, David Frith, says Mr Thompson had pleaded guilty in October 2007, to four charges of failing to comply with Abatement Notices and also entered guilty pleas on behalf of four of his companies on similar charges. The companies involved were Kiwi House Ltd, Gaea Properties Ltd, Synchronised Chaos Ltd and Cronos Properties Ltd.

“Mr Thompson owns several properties in Lake Rd, Northcote. On four of those properties, in addition to the legally built dwellings on each property, he established semi-permanent trailer homes, which he has been renting out to tenants.

“The trailer homes were in breach of a variety of rules in the North Shore City Council District Plan. District plan rules are designed to maintain reasonable space and amenity for residents. The introduction of the trailer homes to the area was not in accordance with those rules,” says Mr Frith.

Mr Frith adds, Mr Thompson and his companies were served with abatement notices in July 2006 for the trailer homes to be removed. He failed to comply with the notices and court action was initiated.

Since court action started, Mr Thompson has submitted four resource consent applications, seeking to legalise the trailer homes on the four properties.

Mr Frith says our planning commissioners have determined that the four consents must be publicly notified if they are to proceed and they have not yet been advised by Mr Thompson if he wishes to continue with the notified application.

“Mr Thompson has the option of either legalising the trailer homes by way of resource consent, or if unsuccessful in his consent applications, of removing the trailer homes from the four properties.

The fines imposed on Mr Thompson and his companies are an indication from the courts that District Plan rules are there for the benefit of residents and for the protection of the wider community, and that there are consequences for disregarding the rules.”

ENDS

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