A group of local Auckland residents has stopped a large housing development from going ahead after the Environment Court ruled in their favour.
The Long Bay Okura Great Park Society raised $320,000 through fundraising to take Okura Holdings Limited (OHL) to court over their proposed 1000 plus house subdivision adjacent to the Long Bay Okura Marine Reserve.
The Environment Court sided with the society in a ruling made yesterday, where they said in part: "We were not confident that the OHL proposal would protect marine ecology from adverse effects.
"The OHL proposal will have significant adverse effects on natural character and landscape values of the site and surrounding environment."
The ruling also made mention that the developers failed to take into account the "special character qualities of the estuary" and its "high vulnerablilty to the adverse effects of urban develpoment".
The Long Bay Okura Great Park Society say they are "ecstatic" with the ruling and that it's a "huge win for New Zealand".
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