Waitakere bill held up by map mistake

A mapping error will delay the introduction of the Waitakere Ranges Heritage Area Bill to Parliament until after the election.

The bill, which was to be presented by Labour MP Lynne Pillay on Friday , was halted at the last minute after the mistake was found.

The Government invited the Auckland Regional Council, Waitakere City Council and Rodney District Council to prepare the bill.

The error was discovered in the Rodney section of the heritage area boundary map by a landowners' group with a grievance against the Rodney council's consultation over the bill.

The boundary line was drawn on the wrong side of two properties with baches on them at Te Henga (Bethells Beach), mistakenly including them in the heritage area to be protected.

"No one noticed the error in the maps so the property-owners were not notified their land was included," said Dr Graeme Campbell, of Waitakere City Council, who helped to create the bill.

"It's disappointing - out of 10,000 properties that were notified, two little ones were lost. But it means we are unable to produce a certificate that says every affected land-owner was publicly notified."

The map must be publicly notified before a local bill can be introduced to Parliament.

Dr Campbell said there was no time to have the error corrected and publicly notified before Parliament closes for business to fight the election in seven weeks.

On May 26, Rodney councillors voted 9-4 to approve the boundary of the heritage area - all public open space and the regionally important wetlands - and the draft bill.

Rodney Mayor John Law said yesterday the error was frustrating.

The inclusion of the two coastal properties was discovered on Wednesday by other private landowners who are included in the Te Henga wetlands part of the heritage area.

On Thursday, a deputation of six landowners told a council meeting they were ready to seek an interim injunction to stop the introduction of the bill.

The group challenged the lawfulness of the council's decisions because it had failed in its statutory duty to consult affected people.

Landowner Martin Goldfinch said the wetland was mainly privately owned.

He said none of the only ratepayers who had a direct ownership interest in the heritage area supported the council's actions.