{"id":238454,"date":"2026-01-17T18:50:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-17T18:50:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/238454\/"},"modified":"2026-01-17T18:50:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-17T18:50:08","slug":"whangarei-buddhist-statues-environment-court-backs-consent-deal-at-coastal-property","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/238454\/","title":{"rendered":"Whang\u0101rei Buddhist statues: Environment Court backs consent deal at coastal property"},"content":{"rendered":"

After multiple complaints to the local council, a commissioner found in 2024 that the scale and placement of the terraces and statues created more than minor adverse landscape and visual effects.<\/p>\n

The commissioner<\/a> also noted that vegetation clearance and the colour choice of the structures added to the council and community\u2019s concerns.<\/p>\n

While the commissioner acknowledged Wang\u2019s cultural beliefs, they concluded the proposal failed the gateway tests and consent was refused.<\/p>\n

In that decision, the commissioner noted a different outcome could have potential if upper terraces were removed and some statues moved further down the embankment.<\/p>\n

Yang appealed the decision to the Environment Court<\/a> and the two parties went to mediation, where they reached an agreement.<\/p>\n

Under the agreement, the number of statues is to be reduced from 147 to 128, and the upper terraces will be removed within three months.<\/p>\n

The upper slope is then to be vegetated with native plants and no artificial lighting or sound effects are to accompany the statues.<\/p>\n

All terraces, roofs and statue supports must also be repainted in one uniform, low-reflect blue colour.<\/p>\n

Most of the dwellings in Little Munro Bay<\/a> are green to blend in with the surrounding bushland.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe tallest statues at 4.5m sit at the top of the terraces. Photo \/ NZME<\/p>\n

Planners and landscape architects for Wang and the council confirmed the revised proposal now passes the s104D tests and aligns with the District Plan\u2019s outstanding natural landscape (ONL) and Outstanding Natural Coastal Area (ONCA) provisions.<\/p>\n

In December, Environment Court Judge Jeff Smith accepted the agreement and issued a consent order under the Resource Management Act.<\/p>\n

Smith emphasised the court was not making a merits determination but endorsing an agreement reached by the parties, noting the revised proposal \u201cappears appropriate\u201d and expert input had shaped the conditions.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe agreed plan at the Little Munro Bay Buddhist site. Photo \/ Environment Court, Sanson and Associates, Simon Cocker landscape architecture<\/p>\n

The consent has a 12-month clause in which the council will review conditions if unforeseen landscape or visual effects arise.<\/p>\n

Greg Grant lives across the road and has a direct view into the property from his kitchen.<\/p>\n

Grant has been active in opposing the site\u2019s resource consents for years and said it has all been a waste of time.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe council people haven\u2019t done their job, no matter what you say. It\u2019s ridiculous,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Grant has a 40-year career as a builder along the coast and said he has been pulled up by the council over minor things.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen people come along and do what they\u2019ve done across the valley there, it makes me angry beyond belief.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know what we can do about it now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Grant said the new blue colour still sticks out among the native reserves, and even with the statues moved, they will still be in sight.<\/p>\n

He said no one lives at the property and the site is empty most of the time, with only gardeners attending.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just become a shrine in the middle of nowhere. I still can\u2019t get my head around what it\u2019s there for.\u201d<\/p>\n

No one was on site when NZME went to visit.<\/p>\n

The Whang\u0101rei District Council did not wish to provide comment to NZME.<\/p>\n

Shannon Pitman is a Whang\u0101rei-based reporter for Open Justice covering courts in the Te Tai Tokerau region. She is of Ng\u0101puhi\/ Ng\u0101ti P\u016bkenga descent and has worked in digital media for the past five years. She joined NZME in 2023.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After multiple complaints to the local council, a commissioner found in 2024 that the scale and placement of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":238455,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1975,32319,140590,9191,8996,1349,3468,273,111,43,139,69,814,140591,1869],"class_list":["post-238454","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-at","tag-backs","tag-buddhist","tag-coastal","tag-consent","tag-court","tag-deal","tag-environment","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-property","tag-statues","tag-whangrei"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238454","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=238454"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/238454\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/238455"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=238454"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=238454"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=238454"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}