A Christchurch City Council mistake has cost nearly $166,000 in fees owed by a collapsed housing company.
The council, at a meeting on Thursday, decided to write off the $165,831 owed by Global Homes group company Global Developments (NZ) Ltd. for development contributions on 12 units in Worcester Street, Linwood.
Due to a “processing error”, council officers issued the code compliance certificate in June last year before payment of the development contributions, a council report says.
Global Developments sold the property to Housing New Zealand in August last year. The invoice for the development contributions was issued on October 14. On the same day Global Developments changed its name to Derby Grey Ltd and director John Edward Clancy vacated his position.
A new director, Graham Dennis Hewer, was appointed and six days later the company was put into voluntary liquidation. The council had no statutory land charge over the property and Housing New Zealand is not liable for the contributions.
The council report says a new processing sheet has been developed to ensure all fees are paid in full before a code compliance certificate is issued. The council’s building control and finance departments are also working on a system where several people, “well known to council staff” will only be allowed to trade with council on a cash basis, the report says.
Hewer has been the director of four struck off companies. His LinkedIn profile lists him as the national sales manager for Global Homes.
Global Developments (now Derby Grey Ltd) is part of the Global Homes group run by Auckland-based Englishman Clancy. It went into liquidation in October last year with liabilities of around $1.1m. A related company, Global Renovations Ltd, now called Hanguk Business Investements One Ltd, has also left Christchurch contractors unpaid and angry.
Clancy appears to have gone overseas. Hewer could not be contacted.
Source: Story by Martin Van Beynen. Published 10/07/15