Eden Park concert battle off to Environment Court
Friday, 13 July 2018
The battle over Eden Park's hopes to stage a charity concert will go direct to the Environment Court.
Auckland Council has accepted the request by the park trust, for the court to deal directly with its bid to stage a Waitangi Day concert at the stadium.
A surge of submissions in the last days mean 360 backed the idea, 127 opposed it, with one neutral.
'The proposal is constrained by a tight timeframe, and time and expense will be saved for all involved,' said Resource Consent General Manager Ian Smallburn.
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The council will contact all those who made submissions, to explain how to become part of the Environment Court process.
The concert is being jointly organised with the Sir Ray Avery Foundation, which hopes to raise $4 million partly through an associated telethon, to fund Avery-invented incubators for premature babies in developing countries.
In a late move this week, the organisers said they would add a noise limit to their application, in response to concerns raised in some submissions from neighbours in the stadium's suburban setting.
If planning approval is granted by the court following a hearing expected in September or October, the concert would become the first to be staged at the stadium, best known for hosting rugby and cricket matches.
The Eden Park Trust is attempting to broaden its revenue-generating base in line with its legislated purpose, but which is constrained by planning regulation.
A change to its legislated trust deed in 2009 allowed it to embrace not just football and cricket but 'other recreational, musical, and cultural events for the benefit of the public of the region'.
However, planning controls in Auckland's Unitary Plan have previously thwarted attempts to go beyond daytime sport or a limited number of evening sporting events, with prescribed hours.
The plan allows the park to apply for up to six concerts a year, but each has to seek planning approval.
The highest-profile opponent of the charity concert is former Prime Minister Helen Clark, who lives three blocks away.
She said Avery was being used by the trust for what she called a 'Trojan Horse' attempt to break into hosting concerts in future.