Quote:
Its contested new factory at Pokeno may have got in the way of a neighbour's plans for a 1000-section housing development.
Last month's Court of Appeal judgment has thrown Synlait's plans to start processing at Pokeno imminently into confusion by upholding restrictive covenants on the land.
The court's ruling that the restrictive convenants stay noted that neighbouring land owner Karl Ye, who sought the court ruling, wants his land rezoned residential for a big subdivision.
Further inquiries by the Herald showed Ye, also known as Qing Ye, made a submission to the Waikato District Council in October to rezone his 148ha properties residential. His land is currently farmed.
The council's proposed district plan wants to rezone Ye's land rural and the land Synlait has built on to heavy industrial.
Two 200-year covenants on the Synlait land restrict its use to grazing, lifestyle farming and forestry.
Ye owns the benefits of the covenants, which have only run for 20 years.
Anyway - both plans (tourism business as well as lifestyle blocks) would be quite incompatible with an adjacent big and ugly dairy factory.