Four Auckland companies and individuals behind an upmarket laneway precinct on Remuera Rd have been fined hundreds of thousands of dollars for carrying out work without a building consent.

Authorities said the offending was so extreme it needed a penalty severe enough to deter others and called the project manager’s attitude and disregard “cavalier”, “brazen” and “close to the standard of arrogant defiance”.

At the Auckland District Court, Judge Kirsten Lummis fined York Project Limited and director Simon Church $55,000 on four charges of carrying out work without a building consent.

The court read a text message Church sent in which he said, “Council are still playing silly bastards with this consent. We are pushing on ... and not stopping”, which Judge Lummis said illustrated a “cavalier attitude towards compliance obligations”.

Companies behind the Remuera village green laneways project have been fined for not having a building consent. Photo / Auckland Council

Other companies, Guardian Retail 415 Limited and Guardian Retail 405 Limited, the owners of the properties, were fined $32,500 under section 40 of the Building Act.

The Carpentry Company Limited and its directors Svend Johannsen and Damian Baker, meanwhile, were fined $45,000 for breaching the law.

The Guardian Group started the village green laneways project in 2020. It included buildings for hospitality and retail at 405, 407, 409 and 415 Remuera Rd along with a conversion of a hair salon into a toilet block.

It hired York Project Limited, Church’s company, to oversee the development, including consent applications.

Companies behind the Remuera village green laneways project have been fined for not having a building consent. Photo / Auckland Council

Church then engaged The Carpentry Company as the main contractor for the construction.

Church instructed the contractors to start building, despite him knowing the consents were not in place. The contractors were under the impression the consents were coming.

Council staffers told the Guardian Group of the breach in April 2022, told them to stop all building and issued notices to fix.

Judge Lummis said: “Given this was a multimillion-dollar project, the fine needs to be meaningful.

“Deterrence was important in this case; that there was a real risk that unless fines were substantial, they would have no deterrent effect and instead come to be considered as no more than licence fees.

“There was a risk that if the court imposed a weak penalty, other developers may be tempted to circumvent the building consent process in favour of the certificate of acceptance process to achieve a speedier completion and other commercial efficiencies.

Judge Lummis said Church had 25 years of experience in the construction industry and was aware no building consents had been issued over the 17 months since the build began, three applications had already been declined, and yet he still directed builders to continue.

The full text message Church sent Johansen, director of the contracted construction company, read: “Council are still playing silly bastards with this consent. We are pushing on with P3 linings and cladding and not stopping.

“We will argue in court if we have to. We need to take s*** loads of photos and file them and name them and not lose them. Thanks.”

Auckland Council described this text message as “brazen” and “close to the standard of arrogant defiance”.

Judge Lummis said the builder defendants’ attitude was poor, saying “they knowingly continued to carry out the physical building work aware consents were not signed off” and deeming them reckless.

Judge Lummis also did not accept the claim the Guardian Group made of being investors rather than developers and called their action “careless”.

Auckland Council lead of investigations David Pawson reiterated Judge Lummis’ concerns over deterrence, saying “we had to send a signal to the building industry”.

“They [can] not keep operating in this way. A building consent is not just a piece of paper, it is a key part of the process to make sure buildings are constructed correctly, particularly when public use is intended.

“[Assuring] building work is carried out to the necessary standard is paramount as is public safety a priority for council.”

Raphael Franks is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. He joined the Herald as a Te Rito cadet in 2022.