The High Court's Judicial Review upheld Council's decision to not notify the 2017 resource consent application by Tekapo Sky Hotel Limited.
Council has maintained from the outset that the resource consent was processed in good faith, in line with our interpretation of the relevant regulations, and has at every step endeavoured to be open and transparent with regard to the process.
Council published information and comprehensive Q&A on the MDC website; however public perception of this issue has been hampered by the circulation of misinformation. This is an on-going challenge, and we encourage the community to take their information from official sources and when in doubt approach Council directly for clarification.
The judge ruled that Council and Tekapo Sky Hotel are entitled to recovery of costs, and Council will now consider their options in this regard.
This litigation has come at very significant cost - both financially and in terms of time and resources - the bulk of which will unfortunately likely be borne by ratepayers. Council is pleased that we do not need to expend further time and ratepayer funds on this matter and can continue to focus our resources on the work we do to serve our communities.
A full copy of the Court's decision can be downloaded here.