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Former Labour Government minister Ralph Maxwell has caused an uproar in Waitakere by trying to avoid building a bush walkway which the Environment Court requires for his 12-lot subdivision.
His bid to vary conditions of the resource consent for the Titirangi development, which the court issued in 2004, has drawn 100 submissions, including a challenge from the Waitakere Ranges Protection Society.
President John Edgar said yesterday that the society had gone to court years ago to ensure Mr Maxwell put something back into the bush in return for carving up 7ha for housing.
"Those conditions were arrived at after a hard battle and now we hear he wants to renege on his responsibilities," he said.
Titirangi Ratepayers and Residents Association chairman Greg Presland said the walkway from Landing Rd to Grendon Rd would be an important link in the local network as the only safe walkway from Laingholm to Titirangi.
He said the association opposed relaxation of the consent condition. It disagreed with the view of some Grendon Rd residents that the walkway would increase crime.
Mr Presland said the original subdivision application was "marginal" and the inclusion of environmentally friendly proposals such as a walkway persuaded the council and the court to allow the plan to proceed.
Mr Maxwell told the Herald he was developing the Landing Rd property he had lived in for 40 years before retiring to Tauranga seven years ago.
Eight lots had been sold and houses built on them. The next stage of four sections had to be done in conjunction with building the walkway.
He said geotechnical investigations on the route showed it crossed "greasyback slips and a ravine".
"It was marked out according to people's sensitivities - it had to be moved away so many metres past their properties.
"It was all well sitting with a piece of paper in court but later, when you come to build the thing, you find that if you followed that route there is geotechnical difficulties, it's costly to build and it's not a walk - it's a climb - and there will be huge costs in maintenance."
Titirangi residents said it was not clear what the cost of the boardwalk was or the value of the cash contribution to the council in lieu of building it. The respective figures needed to be specified.
Mr Maxwell said the walkway would cost anything from $50,000 to $80,000.
He did not know how much cash the council would seek. "But it will be in the same area of cost. The council won't lose. Their arithmetic is usually pretty good."
