Law firm Chapman Tripp was recognised by the Resource Management Law Association for its work on the Lyttelton Port Recovery Project.
This included its work on the largest ever environmental monitoring programme for dredging in New Zealand.
Chapman Tripp, Andrew Purves Planning & Resource Management Ltd and Enviser Ltd received the RMLA Project Award 2019 at the RMLA’s annual conference during its awards dinner on 27 September in Christchurch.
The awards committee says: “It was agreed to award the Lyttelton Port Recovery the Project Award this year because of the breadth and comprehensive nature of the Lyttelton Port Recovery Project, and because of unique issues that it raised in response to the Christchurch earthquakes.”
The award citation reads: “For an innovative and inclusive consideration of the unique issues raised by the Christchurch earthquakes.”
Lyttelton Port Company Limited engaged Chapman Tripp in relation to a range of port recovery projects following the extensive damage caused to its port infrastructure by the 2011 Christchurch earthquakes. Chapman Tripp partner Jo Appleyard worked on the project with Enviser director Jared Pettersson and Andrew Purves Planning & Resource Management director Andrew Purves.
“We are honoured to be recognised for the extensive work we did on this unique and important project. After Lyttelton Port suffered extensive damage in the 2011 earthquakes, Lyttelton Port Company Limited engaged us to take on the challenge of gaining consents for the keystone Recovery Plan enabling the Port to be rebuilt with capacity for the future,” says Jo Appleyard.
Chapman Tripp says through implementation of the Recovery Plan, the Port, which provides work for 500 people, was able to consent and implement a range of technically complicated advanced developments.
It says the project demonstrated best practice including lengthy consultations with iwi and the community, state of the art innovative monitoring plus mitigation mechanisms and techniques and methods to ensure adverse effects on the environment, marine life, aquaculture and the wildlife population including Hector’s Dolphins were mitigated.
RMLA Outstanding Person Award
The Resource Management Law Association’s Outstanding Person Award 2019 went to Richard Brabant for an outstanding contribution, particularly to the further development and understanding of the law, theory and practice in resource management.
Mr Brabant was involved in some of the seminal RMA cases which still provide the foundation for legal theory in assessing applications to this day.
Richard Brabant is a barrister, specialising in Environmental and Local Government law.