Council accused of 'bullying tactics'

A "difficult" council and differences in the understanding of the building code have forced the family running the Duntroon Tavern out of their business and home just days before Christmas, the tavern property owner says.

Malcolm Moore represents Dunmor Property Ltd which owns the tavern.

He has engaged a lawyer to examine a threat of prosecution from Waitaki District Council (WDC) in a letter dated December 2.

The letter threatens prosecution if people were still living in the top floor of the two-storey property on December 19.

Publican Sandy Annan lived there with her partner and three children, but due to the battle between Mr Moore and council she and her partner BJ decided to close their business last Friday.

Mr Annan called the situation "a bloody shame".

"[The] two weeks’ notice to get out is just [nonsense]. We have three kids."

Mr Annan accused council of using "bully tactics". He said he was told by a council officer that due to the lack of fire-proofing, the council would withhold their liquor licence.

Community services group manager Thunes Cloete confirmed council staff would not renew the liquor licence until the necessary safety measures were addressed.

"We have consistently told Mrs Annan that we can only deal with the property owner and that Mrs Annan should direct her inquiries to Mr Moore. We have made several attempts to have the situation rectified. However, we cannot, nor should we, leave this matter unresolved when people’s lives are at risk.

"Despite the dates when we sought to address the non-compliance, Mr Moore first knew about the requirements for protection from fire/fire separation systems in 2013.  We believe Mr Moore has had sufficient time to rectify this matter. There is a solution to this long-running situation and it will be resolved once Mr Moore has made the necessary changes."

Mr Moore said the hotel was from the 1860s era and licensees always lived on the top floor.

To bring the floor up to the code the council now expected would cost his company about $80,000 and "as you can imagine it wasn’t going to happen".

"Council came back and said you haven’t done anything about the fire ratings and I said we weren’t having any hotel accommodation because of the cost of fire ratings."

He described council as "particularly difficult" to deal with and he said there was a "fair bit of dysfunction in the council".

In the letter from law firm Anderson Lloyd addressed to Mr Moore, the  writer talked of a building consent issued on November 27, 2013 which pointed out fire safety measures to be taken.

The council issued several notices to Dunmor Property this year. One was about the first floor being used as accommodation without an appropriate fire alarm system in place.

Dr Cloete said Mr Moore was advised on several occasions that accommodating people in the upstairs of the building was in breach of fire regulations and he was yet to comply with requirements to ensure the accommodation was safe for people to live there.

In his communication to his lawyer at Gallaway Cook Allan, Mr Moore talks of inheriting a building which required ongoing repair work and dealing with a council with poor communication.

He also spoke of the future of Duntroon’s only pub and second-to-last business which could offer food to cyclists travelling on the Alps 2 Ocean cycle trail.

"To operate the business the lessee needs to be on site somehow. We need to resolve the best way forward, stay of prosecution or whatever. We need WDC to be proactive in keeping the cafe and tavern open, rather than forcing closure of an historic public amenity."

shannon.gillies@odt.co.nz