After the decision was delivered in the Christchurch High Court, HWCP Management director Mr O’Donnell rang his project manager to see how soon he could get the demolition under way.
“I’m hoping we can start on Thursday or Friday,” he said after the hearing.
Gaire Thompson, of Nelson, who owns several commercial properties in Invercargill, had sought the injunction to halt demolition until a substantiative hearing could be held to determine whether the Invercargill City Council should have publicly notified amendments to HWCP Management’s resource consent.
Mr Thompson was disappointed with yesterday’s outcome.
“It still probably won’t make any difference to the concerns that we have regarding whether the development will be able to be completed and not leave a vacant blob of a site in the heart of Invercargill.”
During the hearing counsel Sally Gebb said the motivation behind the injunction was Mr Thompson’s concern over the non-notification, as well as risk of the project not being completed due to financial concerns.
He was also concerned about the loss of heritage to the city.
HWCP Management counsel Jared Ormsby said the only factor Justice Gendall had to consider was whether section 15 of the judicial review was relevant in this case.
The clause says it is necessary to warrant an injunction to preserve the position of the applicant.
Mr Ormsby did not believe Mr Thompson met this criteria.
He believed all other matters raised by Miss Gibbs were in relation to the resource consent which “was not for this court to decide”.
The delays were having a considerable impact on the development to the extent it was putting the whole project at risk.
Police and HWCP had concerns over squatters, vandals and trespassers accessing the site, he said.
This may not be the last time the parties meet in court.
Miss Gebb asked when a substantive hearing could be held before Justice Gendall had given his decision. Mr Thompson was not sure whether or not he would continue with another hearing after he heard the decision.
“I’ll be having discussion with counsel before we take anything further,” Mr Thompson said.
