The High Court has issued a decision described as a victory for conservation of protected private land and again shows the strength and integrity of QEII National Trust Open Space covenants.

The High Court has found in favour of QEII, dismissing Kaimai Properties Limited’s (KPL) claim and confirming that quarrying would not be consistent with the QEII covenant.

QEII Chair James Guild says “the High Court has decisively rejected KPL’s claim that the original common intention was always for these covenants to be subject to quarry expansion and confirmed that quarrying activity was clearly prohibited within the protected areas by the QEII covenant.”

“The High Court has reinforced that QEII covenants protect natural spaces against those people who would destroy them. We are proud to have led this fight to defend this covenant from development, which would have damaged the biodiversity, landscape and catchment protection values of the protected bush.”

This case goes to the heart of our legislation and the way we work with landowners to protect their land.

Guild says, “we work closely with landowners, building meaningful relationships as we work on the detail of what is to be protected, what kinds of activities might be allowed in the future and how they would like to use the protected land. We always work pragmatically and in partnership with landowners to protect our precious biodiversity and are pleased to see the Court uphold the protection of this covenant.”

“We are the perpetual trustee of the land we protect and we will stand up to fight for that protection when we need to. QEII is here to protect covenanted land, for future generations of New Zealanders to enjoy and benefit from, forever,” says Guild.

Further information

This story refers to the High Court case Kaimai Properties Limited v Queen Elizabeth The Second National Trust