This was something Geoffrey was told today by Salima Padamsey while outside the High Court for the challenge by Coastal Ratepayers United (CRU) to the council’s Coastal Hazards provisions in the District Plan.

If so, it is foolishness. We’ll investigate and report more.

The challenge to the Environment Court’s declining to make one of the declarations CRU sought, and the council’s opposition to the challenge, were presented by the respective lawyers for the two.

These documents can be read on the CRU website here — select “legal” and then “declaration case against KCDC”.  The three at the bottom of the list were the ones involved today.

Be aware, though, that they consist of mostly technical procedural arguments under the Resource Management Act, and make turgid, not enthralling reading.  We’ll try to present an easily digestible condensation of the significance involved shortly.

The judge said he would try to present his decision before the end of this year.