The Selwyn District Council has filed an application for enforcement orders in the Environment Court against Giltrap Spares Ltd on Curries Rd in Springston South and its directors, Lawton and Elizabeth Giltrap.
The order seeks to stop the receiving, processing, storing or disposing of vehicles, vehicle bodies, vehicle parts, machinery and materials, and that the property is cleaned up.
"The council has good cause to believe that the respondents (Giltraps) will continue to carry out the processing and storage of vehicles, vehicle bodies/wrecks, vehicle parts, machinery and/or materials at the property,” the application to the court said.
The enforcement order is a step up from the two abatement notices the council issued in April 2023 and October 2024, which were not complied with.
Court documents also show the first abatement notice came just over two years after a neighbour complained to the council on April 9, 2021.
Selwyn Times previously reported people living nearby were frustrated with the lack of action from the council and had sought help from Selwyn MP Nicola Grigg.
When asked about the time it had taken, council development and growth executive director Robert Love said it uses enforcement as a last resort.
“This was a complex case that came at the same time as the council was working through the process of introducing a new district plan and other external factors,” he said.
Over the last four years, the council has visited the Curries Rd property three times and observed operations from outside on another three occasions.
The Giltraps did not respond to the Selwyn Times.
Unlike abatement notices, which the council issues, enforcement orders are issued by the Environment Court.
If the council application is successful, the Giltraps will have 40 working days to provide the council with a plan detailing the number of vehicles on the property and how they will be removed within 60 working days of the plan being approved.
If the enforcement is not complied with, the council may have the power to clear the site on the Giltraps behalf and recover the cost of doing so.
A court for the application date has yet to be set.
