KEY POINTS:
Plans to deal with potentially dangerous vapours from solvent, ink and drycleaning fluids beneath a major Auckland retail site were outlined at a hearing this week.
Murray Jordan, Foodstuffs (Auckland) property development general manager, gave evidence about a toxic chemical management plan to a combined North Shore City Council/Auckland Regional Council panel formed to hear a resource application for a supermarket on the North Shore.
For 20 years, Foodstuffs has been trying to develop and open a new Pak'nSave on the site. This week's hearing was the second application, after the High Court at Auckland ruled the company's first consent was illegal. Progressive and Northcote Mainstreet oppose Foodstuffs opening the Pak'nSave.
In a further blow to Foodstuffs' hopes for the site, contamination was found on a western portion of the land during the supermarket's construction in 2005.
Jordan said his firm had taken a "safety first" approach and adopted a mitigation and monitoring package after chlorinated solvents were discovered.
These had probably come from an adjacent site where drycleaning fluids, various printing inks and solvents were used, he told the hearing.
The firm's mitigation plan was a two-pronged approach: a vapour barrier placed under a floor slab and a sub-slab depressurisation system located under that vapour barrier, Jordan explained
The depressurisation system is a series of pipes which extract vapours from beneath the vapour barrier once a certain concentration was reached.
Jordan also outlined the background and how his company had developed the large supermarket which it had never been able to open.
In 1989, Foodstuffs bought the 2.02ha site with frontages to Archers Rd and Wairau Rd. In 1996, it bought an additional portion of land to give access off Porana Rd, he said.
In 1997, it applied for consent to develop a 6259 sq m Pak'nSave. But in 2002, the Environment Court declined this because of traffic problems, he said.
So in February 2004, the company lodged a new application for a 4899 sq m Pak'nSave and a fire station. The council processed this on a non-notified basis and granted consent on November 18 of that year, he said.
But that consent was found to be illegal so, last year, Foodstuffs applied again and the council decided to process that with limited notification. But Progressive lodged an application for a judicial review in the High Court.
"In light of further judicial review proceedings and the delay that would inevitably be created, Foodstuffs made the decision to lodge a new resource consent," Jordan told the panel. "At the same time, Foodstuffs chose to apply for the additional consents that would be required from Auckland Regional Council."
Community support for the supermarket had been strong, Jordan said.
Ray Clarke, a member of Grey Power's North Shore branch, criticised the Resource Management Act process which could see hundreds of supporters counted as a group of one.
Stefan Naude, North Shore's resource management group manager, outlined the process: "What we have received is a submission supported by a number of signatories. This is regarded as one submission because all the signatories support the same submission," Naude said.
Built but banned
The new supermarket building is at 30-60 Wairau Rd.
The 4899 sq m Pak'nSave has never been opened.
A line of 13 checkouts was designed to cope with strong demand.
The 334-vehicle carpark has been fenced from the public.
