Music building row off to court

Opponents to a planned $24.3 million music centre at the Christchurch Arts Centre are taking their fight to the High Court in a bid to have the controversial project shelved for good.

In an application filed yesterday afternoon, Save Our Arts Centre Society Incorporated is challenging the Arts Centre Trust Board's involvement in the venture, saying it is acting outside its powers.

It also wants the Christchurch City Council, which wants to bankroll the venture in a deal with the Canterbury University, to reconsider its funding decision.

The society claims this month's council vote to borrow $24.3m for the music school was predetermined and that the council did not properly consult ratepayers.

The society, which boasts more than 4000 members, is also seeking an interim injunction to stop February's planned music school resource consent hearing until all of its legal concerns are considered.

The brewing legal stoush is estimated to cost the society at least $80,000 – money it does not yet have – while the potential cost to ratepayers is unclear and depends on the council's reaction.

The society's moves were outlined in a statement embargoed until midnight, meaning neither the trust board, university or council has publicly responded yet.

Society lawyer Jared Ormsby said it could be "a matter of months" before the application is heard.

He will ask the High Court to urgently fast-track the case if the council does not postpone the consent hearing.

Society chairman Richard Sinke said the key question was whether the trust board had the power to be involved in the project or if it was acting outside its trust deed.

"It is our opinion, based on legal advice, that the trust board is acting `ultra vires' (outside its trust deed). "This is an incredibly important issue, not just for the current controversial proposal, but for the future of the Arts Centre building and lands. We believe it is a question of deep public interest to resolve this issue – the extent of the powers of the Arts Centre Trust Board."

The society was now actively fundraising to get enough money to mount its challenge.

It wants the High Court to set aside changes the board made to its trust deed since 1993. The original aims of the board, it said, were to just "hold" the Arts Centre, but the deed now allowed the board to "hold and develop" the facility.

Sinke said the change was invalid and, as a consequence, the board was acting outside its powers.