Work on 100-year-old historic Wellington building was done without consent

Construction work done on a 100-year-old historic Wellington building had to be halted after it was found that it was being done without consent.

Sir James Elliott House, in Kent Terrace, was the home of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons for 25 years before it went on the market in 2013 and was sold to the Ganesh Superannuation Fund Ltd. A shareholder in the company is Naginbhai Neil Patel, who also owns the Shalimar Diary in Aro Valley.

Patel pleaded guilty in Wellington District Court on Friday to two charges under the Building Act and the Resource Management Act over the work. The company also pleaded guilty to the same charges.

Wellington City Council received a complaint in December 2015 about construction work at the heritage-listed building.