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Open-cast mine expansion planned for Te Arai Point

 

ATT01228-507A local quarry at Te Arai, near Mangawhai, has applied to Auckland Council for a Resource Consent to expand their quarrying operation to over 60 times its legally permitted allowance resulting in the destruction of six acres of native bush.

Lake Road Quarry (Nampara Holdings) was started in 1981 by local farmers Dave and Sheryl Pacey who applied to Rodney Council to operate a small scale aggregate quarry on Lake Road, Te Arai, for the use of local farmers. The council approved a Land Use Consent in 1981 for the extraction of 2000 cubic meters and vehicle movements of up to two trucks per day which the local community were happy with.

However since 1981 production has progressively increased with the quarry itself reporting current production at 60,000 cubic metres which is in breach of the quarry’s Land Use Consent and has left a huge scar on the landscape. Auckland Council has previously approved a ‘non-notified’ consent to allow the quarry to expand with no consultation with the community and simply overlooked the fact that the quarry is legally not permitted to do so. Auckland Transport have an insatiable appetite for aggregate to fulfil their ever expanding roading and infrastructure projects and the Paceys are seeking to capitalise on this opportunity with total disregard to the effects it will leave on the local community.

What was originally intended as a small local quarry for local use is now a full scale commercial operation, run by people who no longer live in the Te Arai area with ironically most of the aggregate going outside of the region as far as the Puhoi motorway extension, benefiting a limited few at the expense of the greater community.

The quarry have again asked Auckland Council for their support and requested that their application be again made on a ‘non-notified’ basis. In effect what this means is that the Paceys are asking for their expansion plan to be approved without consulting with any of their neighbours, any effected parties, the local community and  the thousands of visitors who come to enjoy our unique environment who will all be affected. If Auckland Council decides that the quarry expansion will have “minimal effect” as they have previously done in the past, then they can make a unilateral decision to approve the application on a ‘non-notified’ basis and prevent any feedback, discussion or objections.

The current operation of the quarry is already having serious consequences for the natural environment and for the health and safety of local residents. The proposed expansion for 130,000 cubic meters per year will potentially see more than 200 heavy trucks a day travelling at speed on unsealed rural roads, posing a real danger to the increasing number of visitors coming into the park. 

Doug Baird, president of Lake Road Preservation Society says: “In 1981, there were few residents or visitors to the area and the single lane metal roads were adequate for low volumes of traffic. The current environment has changed dramatically and the breeches of the consent for extraction and traffic make the situation untenable.

There are regular accidents on the surrounding roads leading to the quarry on Lake Road, with Te Arai Point Road being the main access to popular Te Arai Beach, currently recognised as one of the top ten beaches in New Zealand.” There are concerns in the community that the proposed expansion will see a significant area of native bush being destroyed and will have a detrimental effect on the local bird life and other native species.

 Go to the “Protect Te Arai from Open Cast Mine Expansion” Facebook page to sign the petition or call Auckland Council Planning Department and lodge your objections to the Resource Management Department.
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