The group fighting the establishment of a water bottling plant in Ashburton wants to raise $90,000 to launch a judicial review of the water consent.
Hundreds protested the sale of the water rights in Ashburton in April this year. Photo: RNZ / Sally Murphy
The Ashburton District Council has cancelled a plan to sell land and a water consent to a water bottling company, but the site may go back on the market after council elections.
The group opposing the sale, Bung the Bore, want a judicial review into why the water consent was issued as a non-notified consent.
The group's spokesperson Jennifer Branje said that would give them a chance to make a submission against it, if the council chose to re-apply for it.
She said she doubted it would be reapplied for because water was so over-allocated in Canterbury and was likely to be turned down.
The group has set up a Givealittle page and hopes to raise the money by early September.
Mrs Branje said they would need to raise the $90,000 before they embarked on the judicial review.
She said they hoped to get support from around the country, as she believes overturning the consent would set a precedent for other communities facing similar issues.