Waiheke Island’s Cable Bay Vineyards seeks hefty legal costs from Auckland Council

A luxurious Waiheke Island winery is looking for lots of of hundreds of {dollars} in authorized prices from Auckland Council.

Corporations related to Cable Bay Vineyards need Auckland Council to pay as much as half its practically $600,000
authorized invoice linked to a “torturous” Surroundings Court docket case over noise from its restaurant and bar.

However paperwork obtained by the Herald present the council has already spent lots of of hundreds of {dollars} on courtroom proceedings and enforcement motion referring to Cable Bay, which has seen the winery repeatedly prosecuted and fined for unlawful actions.

These prices are set to develop additional amid ongoing courtroom motion and appeals.

Talking final 12 months, Auckland Council regulatory compliance common supervisor James Hassall informed the Herald the precise quantity spent by council was more likely to be even greater, because the figures didn’t embody hours labored by in-house authorized workers on enforcement motion towards Cable Bay.

Within the council’s view, “it’s typically been essential to take courtroom proceedings [against Cable Bay]”.

“If the winery was utterly compliant we’d not have incurred [some of] these prices.”

Nevertheless the winery has hit again saying it’s been “unfairly focused”.

It claims the council’s expenditure on enforcement motion has “not been effectively spent” with solely “restricted success”.

Court docket paperwork obtained by the Herald present the winery believes ratepayers and a band of neighbours who’ve repeatedly complained about extreme noise from the vineyard must be pressured to foot 50 per cent of Cable Bay’s hefty authorized invoice.

The neighbours have filed their very own bid for prices, looking for practically $1 million from Cable Bay and Auckland Council.

The council says it shouldn’t be pressured to pay for Cable Bay’s attorneys or these of the neighbours, and prices ought to “lie the place they fall”.

Businessman Loukas Petrou is the listed director of the vineyard and restaurant operation.

He’s additionally the director of a building firm and owns no less than two luxurious houses price about $15m – one in Remuera’s Arney Cres and the opposite on Waiheke’s clifftop Queens Dr.

In an October 2020 courtroom submission, Cable Bay’s attorneys stated the winery was solely looking for a “cheap contribution” to its prices.

The prices must be awarded as a result of the opposite events had “superior arguments that have been unmeritorious and missing in substance”, or “unreasonably objected to each conceivable matter earlier than the Court docket” – forcing Cable Bay to incur “pointless expense”, the submission says.

The extended authorized dispute is linked to Cable Bay’s protracted bid to acquire retrospective consent for its restaurant operation, which has notched up greater than 100 noise complaints since 2014 – many linked to tipsy revellers on the winery’s picturesque sloping garden.

After being slapped with enforcement orders in 2018, Cable Bay was lastly granted consent in September 2020, however topic to strict noise mitigation restrictions designed to guard the agricultural space’s peaceable amenity.

And although Petrou informed the Herald on the time the winery would “in fact respect the phrases of any consent granted”, his firm appealed the choice to the Excessive Court docket, arguing the situations have been too onerous.

The enchantment was thrown out final 12 months, however Petrou’s firm has now sought go away to enchantment to the Court docket of Attraction.

A small band of neighbours say they’ve spent greater than $1m holding Cable Bay to account, and say of their opinion the winery has repeatedly thumbed its nostril at its authorized obligation, given the variety of alleged breaches.

The council says it has efficiently prosecuted the winery 4 instances, leading to a number of convictions and over $30,000 in fines and prices for illegal actions referring to extreme helicopter actions and unlawful constructing work.

A landmark noise prosecution towards Cable Bay involving “chirping crickets” was thrown out final 12 months, however two fees are set to be reheard following an enchantment by Auckland Council.

Info launched to the Herald beneath the Native Authorities Official Info and Conferences Act present ratepayers have spent a number of hundred thousand {dollars} in recent times making certain Cable Bay shouldn’t be in breach of its permitted actions.

The determine contains responding to dozens of noise complaints, the profitable prosecutions, and an estimated $200,000 in authorized charges linked to the Surroundings Court docket case and enforcement orders.

Nevertheless Hassall stated the precise determine spent by ratepayers was not possible to estimate attributable to unquantified inside workers hours.

“Some elements of what [the vineyard] does are definitely in breach and the courts have decided that. Different issues are borderline.

“That is us endeavor our numerous duties beneath the acts to ensure individuals are complying with their duties.”

In a press release this week, Hassall stated it was inappropriate to remark additional whereas the matter remained earlier than the courts.

The events at the moment are awaiting the prices choice.

An announcement from Cable Bay’s lawyer, Karenza de Silva, stated the winery had been unfairly focused by the council over noise and among the cash sunk into enforcement motion was ill-spent.

She cited a withdrawn 2017 prosecution involving 33 fees and in addition highlighted final 12 months’s “failed” noise prosecution, which was thrown out after a noise management officer by accident deleted essential sound information, torpedoing the council’s case.

The council had not prosecuted some other hospitality venues for noise, and only one personal get together, “all of which confirms that Cable Bay is unfairly focused”, De Silva stated.