Iwi members opposing a contentious development at Wellington's Shelly bay hope a hui will shed light on the project that they say has been shrouded in secrecy.
An artist's impression of the Shelly Bay development. Photo: Photo / Supplied
The Port Nicholson Settlement Block Trust, sold the land to the Wellington Company in 2016, which was again granted resource consent late last year.
The development was issued a resource consent back in April 2017, but that was then quashed in December 2018 following an appeal lodged by the business group Enterprise Miramar.
As a result, when a new resource consent application was filed from the developers, Wellington City Council decided to outsource the decision-making to independent commissioners who then granted the consent.
In a pānui sent to iwi descendants last week, the trust and developer, Wellington Company, said because of that decision, it was now in a position to meaningfully engage with the community.
But before calling for wider public feedback, it provided a special preview to iwi members to engage with uri on the proposal as a whole on Tuesday evening at the Lodge at Shelly Bay.
Another artist's impression of what the Shelly Bay development would look like. Photo: RNZ /SUPPLIED
Mau whenua is a group of iwi members who oppose the multi-million dollar development.
They dispute the land sale, saying it did not have the necessary level of support from trust members at the time it was sold.
A spokesperson, Anaru Mepham, said it had been difficult to get any information from the trust about the development. He hoped the hui would provide that.
"We would really like to find out what's been planned as such and under the hasher and secrecy in this transaction no-one really knows what's going on.
"So to get some clarity on how they are moving forward will be really valuable."
Mepham said they would have representatives at the hui tonight, but with only a few days notice, it was unlikely to draw big numbers.
"The notice of the meeting was quite short, it's only been a few days since we received it, so it's a bit tricky to pull everyone together at such short notice."
