Waikato district mayor Allan Sanson tells councillors the Waikato Regional Council is not their friend after a fight he had with the chairman Russ Rimmington. Photo / You Tube
Waikato district mayor Allan Sanson tells councillors the Waikato Regional Council is not their friend after a fight he had with the chairman Russ Rimmington. Photo / You Tube
Waikato District Council mayor Allan Sanson and Waikato Regional Council chairman Russ Rimmington have been throwing insults at each other after falling out over plans to transform a rural town into a small industrial and residential community.
Sanson told councillors earlier this month that the regional council was not their friend because it won't support The Comfort Group's $1.4 billion plans which promise to bring more than 1100 jobs to the district.
Sanson and Rimmington clashed during a Future Proof meeting held over Zoom involving about 30 participants including the mayors and chairs, deputies and chief executives from Waipa, Hamilton, Waikato and the regional council.
Two Waikato leaders are at loggerheads over a planned industrial and residential development (pictured) led by The Comfort Group in Ohinewai. Photo / Supplied
Sanson is in support of the development and believes it is also important for Huntly's future, while Rimmington is firmly against it saying it is a hotch-potch plan that will be its death knell.
The day after their 10-minute heated argument Sanson told his councillors at a strategy and finance meeting that the regional council was "bloody-minded and single focused to stop it" and did not listen to his arguments around the number of jobs it could bring.
Waikato District mayor Allan Sanson said the council led by Rimmington had some "bloody minded" views.
He said Rimmington made some pretty derogatory comments about the community of Huntly and didn't care about employment problems.
"It is fair to say regional council are not our friend.... and I would think that probably every mayor in the Waikato has got an issue with regional council at the moment so this is not new."
"Let's put it this way - he seems to be the sole spokesperson for the regional council at the moment and I suppose that is appropriate as well as the chair of it but at the end of the day he's terribly fixated on a number things in the region at the moment and as I said a number of mayors has similar problems with his infatuation with not allowing things to happen and this is one of them. "
He also criticised Rimmington's behaviour at the meeting.
Waikato Regional Council chairman Russ Rimmington said he kept calm.
But Rimmington told the Herald Sanson was angry, while he had kept clam.
"He verbally attacked me that I live in an elite area of Tamahere.
"He runs that little fiefdom at Waikato district and this is the first time he's been kind of challenged. Democracy is important that all stakeholders have their input."
Rimmington said he personally believed the Sleepyhead development was in the wrong place and would be better suited for Huntly as it would bring workers to Huntly and not 9km up the road.
"It's a classic ad hoc development. Built on low lying-cheap land - that's what it is it's cheaper land that's why Sleepyhead are going there," he said.
"Poor old Allan is just desperate for rating dollars and I believe that will be future generations will come to regret hotch-potch developments over our farmland."
Rimmington said he told Sanson he could paddle his own waka, but not to put it in the middle of virgin farmland.
He said he fielded a number of calls from people after the meeting congratulating him on challenging the council.
Sanson told the Herald on Monday night he didn't lose his rag but he was "pretty disappointed" in the derogatory comments from a Waikato leader.
A hearing for the rezoning of the 176ha of rural land in Ohinewai is scheduled for September and Waikato Regional Council and NZTA are among those who have made submissions against it.
