Hutt tennis land at centre of councillor's disciplinary hearing could be sold to health provider

Tuesday, 8 December 2020

Part of the land occupied by the Hutt Valley Tennis Association could be sold after councillors accepted a recommendation to revoke its reserve status.

The Hutt Valley Tennis Association land at the centre of Hutt City councillor Chris Milne’s unprecedented disciplinary investigation could be sold.

Hutt City councillors on Tuesday accepted a recommendation to take first steps towards revoking the reserve status of part of the land, the first step towards selling it.

Milne, whose wife is president of the tennis association, was in October found to have breached the council’s code of conduct over his ongoing conflict of interest in the matter.

Hutt Valley Health Limited, which has a medical hub next to the 1640 square metre block at Mitchell Park, is interested in buying the land, which is valued at $1.4 million. The council has spent years discussing the potential sale.

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Councillor Chris Milne was disciplined after being found to have made breaches of the code of conduct. The breaches included his ongoing conflict of interest regarding the sale of the tennis land.

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Councillors noted the association supported the move if the proceeds of the sale were re-invested in their redevelopment plans.

The association plans on bringing buildings at the site up to earthquake compliance standards, covering four courts and building new ones.

Milne did not initially respond to an invitation to declare a conflict of interest at the meeting. He did so after the council's chief legal officer Bradley Cato noted Milne and the council had been advised of a conflict.

Milne said he was leaving the meeting early, and was not present when the matter was discussed.

While Central Ward councillor David Bassett raised questions over the viability of a redeveloped tennis centre, and reminded councillors and officers of the need to make financially sound decisions, the recommendation passed without objection.

City-wide councillor Simon Edwards noted the potential sale would be a positive move for the club, the health hub and the city. He said the issue of the sale had been dragging on for years and it would be good settle the matter, a view echoed by other councillors.

In May, complaints were made about Milne which included the conflict of interest after he contacted a council officer over the matter.

The conflict was previously discussed with Milne in June 2019 before the council voted in favour of providing funding to the club to the tune of $850,000.

Milne voted on the matter anyway, but a second vote excluding Milne was held following media attention after the initial vote.

He was also spoken to about the conflict in February 2020 when he signalled he would continue to participate in the matter.

Having also been found guilty of interfering with a council tender process, Milne was ordered to make a public apology, undertake training and pay $16,500 towards the cost of the investigation.

The ability for the Hutt City Council to recoup costs for a code of conduct investigation was introduced in 2016. The penalty imposed on Milne was the council's first use of the power.