31 Jul 2016

Review of water consent process sought

8:42 am on 31 July 2016

The group fighting the establishment of a water bottling plant in Ashburton wants to raise $90,000 to launch a judicial review of the water consent.

Hundreds protested the sale of water rights in Ashburton today.

Hundreds protested the sale of the water rights in Ashburton in April this year. Photo: RNZ / Sally Murphy

The Ashburton District Council has cancelled a plan to sell land and a water consent to a water bottling company, but the site may go back on the market after council elections.

The group opposing the sale, Bung the Bore, want a judicial review into why the water consent was issued as a non-notified consent.

The group's spokesperson Jennifer Branje said that would give them a chance to make a submission against it, if the council chose to re-apply for it.

She said she doubted it would be reapplied for because water was so over-allocated in Canterbury and was likely to be turned down.

The group has set up a Givealittle page and hopes to raise the money by early September.

Mrs Branje said they would need to raise the $90,000 before they embarked on the judicial review.

She said they hoped to get support from around the country, as she believes overturning the consent would set a precedent for other communities facing similar issues.

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