No consent for 'ghetto' house

Stuart Sowersby, and Jenny Sowersby from Havelock North, concerned after an old state house was moved onto a neighbouring section without resource consent. Photo / Paul Taylor

Havelock North residents are worried a Joll Rd landowner is "building a ghetto" after a derelict state house popped up on his section, without resource consent, last week.

Jenny Sowersby, who has lived on Joll Rd, Havelock North, for 30 years, said she and her husband woke up at 2.30am last Monday to the sound of the house being moved on to the property. It was so loud she called Noise Control.

"It would have woken the whole street up."

She later saw the new addition to her neighbourhood in the light of day - a three-bedroom ex-state house. "It's an old state house - it's a shell. We're just devastated ... It will take at least $100,000 off our property."

Joll Rd resident Rose Wood was also mystified by the appearance of the house.

"Lo and behold, on Monday morning I woke up at 2.30am and heard a noise - we thought it was a helicopter - and there's this house there."

The landowner had not obtained resource consent for the relocation of the house, and there were plans to shift two more houses - a three-bedroom and a four-bedroom, on to the section.

"We've been shocked. We've realised there's nothing we can do. Essentially they are thumbing their nose at the council - they're building a ghetto."

Anne Crutchley, who lives across the road from the section, said she couldn't understand why there hadn't been prior consultation with residents.

"How can a street like Joll Rd have three state houses put on to a section with no forethought about the property values of the surrounding houses, or the kind of tenants it would attract?"

The property owner, Auckland financial adviser Sanjeev Toora, said he had purchased the land on Joll Rd in July this year.

He confirmed a three-bedroom rental house had been moved on to the property and two more rental houses were waiting to be moved on.

He said he hoped to move to Havelock North in future to live in the four-bedroom house with his family - planning to export apples to India from Hawke's Bay.

He was "happy to listen to the concerns of the residents".

He had visited the suburb already this year in an attempt to allay the concerns of a woman directly neighbouring the property.

"Havelock North is a very nice area, a good place for kids and a family ... I want to do business with Hawke's Bay. If I have problems with the local people how can I grow? We can grow together."

Mr Toora didn't know the details of the resource consent application for the house's relocation, referring Hawke's Bay Today to his property manager, Shannon Tawhiti.

The website of Mr Tawhiti's relocation business, Relocate Homes NZ, describes him as "a successful and well-known residential property investor/trader based in Hawke's Bay".

Mr Tawhiti could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Hastings District Council acting environmental consents manager Murray Arnold confirmed resource consent hadn't been granted prior to the house's relocation, although there was an application to relocate three houses in total on to the site.

"In this case, infringement notices and an abatement notice have been issued. If resource consent is not issued, then the house will have to be moved off the site."

The infringement notices issued included fines of $300.

Part of the council's assessment criteria for resource consent applications for house relocations is the external appearance of the house and any necessary "works" so that it is "compatible with the amenity of the surrounding area".

Hawke's Bay architect Pierre du Toit called the relocation of the house "a disgrace".

"I think there's a problem with the District Plan - the assessment criteria is too broad and the council's not qualified to make that assessment."

The $300 fine was also "an joke absolute joke, not a deterrent".

"The plan doesn't have the teeth to stop this from happening."