Petition against Maraekakaho quarry gains 1200 signatures

A petition against an application to build a quarry in Maraekakaho has gained 1200 signatures from locals concerned about the potential environmental impacts.

A Hawke’s Bay Regional Council (HBRC) submission to the Environmental Protection
Authority (EPA) has also raised a potential stumbling block. The HBRC says the Tūpore Infrastructure application to build the quarry near its existing operations relies on land the company leases off HBRC, and the lease expires in June.

Maraekakaho residents have fought against the quarry in their backyard for about 15 years without success.

Tūpore Infrastructure – formerly Russell Roads – applied to the EPA on December 6 last year, under the fast-tracking consenting process implemented during the Covid-19 response.

This application will expand the existing quarry into a 29-ha site that will haul 6.42 million cubic metres over the next 20 years.

Several parties, including owners of affected land, iwi and hapū organisations, HBRC and Hastings District Council, were invited to comment on the application.

The deadline for submissions was Tuesday.

Comments submitted on behalf of HBRC by Gavin Ide, HBRC’s principal advisor for strategic planning, said the lease on a lot of land HBRC leased to Tūpore Infrastructure expires in June this year.

The application appeared to rely on an existing processing site on this land.

“We think that is unwise. HBRC has not made any agreement or commitment to allow ongoing processing activities on that site by any party, let alone the existing lessee, or any other entity such as the FTC applicant or another person,” Ide wrote.

“HBRC is not in the position to lease land it owns for commercial activities which are not of benefit to river management or the [Heretaunga scheme].

“Russell Roads Limited is not the sole interest in the existing processing site nor HBRC’s other nearby landholdings. The Applicant currently does not have any agreement or arrangement with HBRC for land owned or administered by HBRC in the Maraekakaho vicinity.”

Gavin O’Connor, chief executive officer of Tūpore Infrastructure, said the company was in ongoing discussions with the council about extending the lease and had met council representatives earlier in the month to discuss it.

“At that meeting, council officers advised that they would begin internal consultation with the relevant departments within council which would then allow a further meeting to discuss next steps,” O’Connor said.

A change.org petition opposed to the quarry application gained more than 1200 signatures in nearly three weeks.

The petition urged descendants of the hapū of Heretaunga to sign, describing the proposal as an “imminent threat” to the entire region due to potential adverse effects on the Heretaunga aquifer.

An EPA spokeswoman said a decision on the application was due on or before April 26, but it could be extended by 25 working days if the panel decided it was appropriate.

It has previously said the quarry would bring jobs and economic benefits to the region and that it was working with experts to ensure any potential environmental effects of the project were managed.

James Pocock joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2021 and writes breaking news and features, with a focus on environment, local government and post-cyclone issues in the region. He has a keen interest in finding the bigger picture in research and making it more accessible to audiences. He lives in Napier. james.pocock@nzme.co.nz