4 Mar 2020

Bach owners considering legal action against council decision

From First Up, 5:11 am on 4 March 2020

The owner of one of a group of historic West Coast baches is considering legal action against a decision that removes owners' rights to rent them. The Buller District Council recently updated a policy for the buildings which sit on unformed legal road - or public land, throughout the district. The renewed policy allows the buildings to stay under a new 25-year land lease term, but a long-term campaigner for their survival is furious. Ross MacCrae, who has owned one of these homes for decades, says the updated policy is "pure legal fiction", which he plans to appeal. He told our reporter Tracy Neal the latest decision is one in a long line he's been fighting since 1978.