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A group opposed to the disposal of the old Napier Hospital has lost a High Court challenge against the way the Government went about the $20 million sale to a Wellington property development firm.
The Napier Public Health Action Group listed Conservation Minister Chris Carter, Health Minister Pete Hodgson and the Crown Health Financing Agency as defendants in its application for a judicial review of the sale process.
The application was heard in the High Court at Napier in February. In a written judgment yesterday, Justice Paul Heath dismissed the application and declined to award any costs.
The group had argued the 2.8ha site on Napier Hospital Hill was protected by a statutory trust which specified it could only be used for a hospital and grounds. It also argued that the sale to Prime Property on August 10, 2006, before a tender process had been completed, had been done without public consultation.
Justice Heath said the Reserves Act of 1920 had revoked all earlier trusts or purposes which attached to the hospital land.
He said there was no statutory requirement for public consultation and no undertakings from the Health Minister or Crown agency that the action group or Napier community would be consulted.
The developer plans to convert the hospital into apartments and retirement accommodation.
- NZPA
