Court rejects Council's Three Kings Development Contributions Challenge

Sue Simons and Stephanie Macdonald have successfully defended a decision of a Development Contributions Commissioner in the High Court, overcoming Auckland Council’s judicial review challenge.

In a 2024 judgement, the Commissioner upheld Fletcher Residential Limited’s objection to Auckland Council’s development contributions assessment for its subdivision at the Three Kings Precinct. The Council then sought to judicially review that decision on five grounds – all of which were dismissed by Justice Venning in the High Court at Auckland in May 2025.

The Court agreed with Fletcher Residential's legal submissions in finding that none of the Council’s grounds could be substantiated. Particularly, Justice Venning confirmed that the Commissioner did not err by considering the wider Three Kings Development in context, rather than limiting the assessment to the 27 houses covered by the specific resource consent. It was reinforced that the substantial recreation and reserves works, undertaken and funded by Fletcher Residential, “significantly mitigate” the impact of the development. Requiring the physical provision of such works, whilst simultaneously seeking monetary contributions, once again, was held out as an example of a “double dipping” attempt made by Council.  

Ultimately, it is clear – opportunistic development contributions assessments can be successfully challenged, and judicial review is no avenue to revisit the potentially “disagreeable” outcomes of such.