The High Court has granted leave to appeal in a land valuation case that would potentially affect the kiwifruit industry. In Gisborne District Council v Bushmere Trust [2022] NZHC 2996, the Bushmere Trust owned a property northwest of Gisborne. Bushmere had a license from Zespri Group to grow and sell highly valuable SunGold kiwifruit on the property.
The Land Valuation Tribunal held that the value of the license should be deducted from the capital value of the property, valuing it at a level equivalent to a green kiwifruit orchard. The matter was brought to the High Court which ruled that the capital value of the property, a proxy for fair market value, includes the value of the land as enhanced by the license, which in practice runs with the land. The High Court concluded that under the Rating Valuations Act 1998, the rateable value of the property included the value of the SunGold license .
The High Court clarified that a second appeal court’s primary function is to “clarify the law and to determine whether it has been properly construed and applied by the court below.”
Source: thelawyermag.com