The independent panel’s action adds another chapter in a long-running saga involving Glenpanel Development and its efforts to get a massive housing development on the Frankton-Ladies Mile Highway near Queenstown over the line.
The battle over fast-track consent for the 384-home subdivision near Frankton has included legal action, allegations of bias and two panel members quitting.
In a publicly released letter, the panel said it had contacted Glenpanel several times about "significantly overdue" unpaid fees.
Hearings have been suspended since June as a result of this dispute.
The panel is asking for $78,000, and is not ruling out sending debt collectors to retrieve the money Glenpanel owes.
"The EPA reserves its right to initiate debt recovery proceedings against you in the event of continuing non-payment."
Glenpanel’s lawyers responded with a letter of their own slamming the panel for being "unfair" and accused it of failing to communicate its reasoning for the "cost recovery".
The letter also suggested the reason for suspending hearings stemmed from "improper motive" and "some sort of punishment" for Glenpanel for raising concerns about the impartiality of the former panel chairman and for maintaining an application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court
It also argued the decision to recover $78,000 and to suspend the hearings had come without sufficient warning, "beyond a short phone call".
The lawyers also criticised the panel’s decision to suspend the hearings as unlawful.
"Our client is extremely concerned by the matters raised in this letter.
"Our client invites the panel to immediately rescind the decision and to confirm that it has resumed processing the application."
Glenpanel’s lawyers then threatened to launch a judicial review into the panel’s decision-making.
Glenpanel’s attempt to build a subdivision near Frankton has been an ongoing saga for years.
The panel initially rejected the proposal in 2022, but Glenpanel resubmitted its proposal early last year, citing a friendlier political climate for the application.
Not too long after hearings began in the middle of last year, Glenpanel accused two of the panel members of suspected bias.
The matter went to the Court of Appeal, but both panel members were found not to have had on balance conflicts of interest.
Shortly after this, both panel members left to avoid perceptions of conflicts of interest in the panel.
The panel appointed a special adviser to take over the two panellists’ roles.
Glenpanel has had a similar development of 370 homes near Frankton approved by an EPA panel.
