Dannevirke woodchip mill noise not a problem for mayor; council says it’s compliant

Investigations into seven noise complaints made about a new woodchip mill in Dannevirke found the business to be compliant.

Tararua Mayor Tracey Collis says Buckeridge Wood Fibre, constructed recently in an industrial area of Miller St, is “in the right area” of town and she doesn’t find the noise a problem.

According to the council, the complaints were made about “general loud noise” generated by the debarking and wood processing plant operating under a temporary resource consent.

Owned by Simon and Danielle Buckeridge, the mill was registered as a business in August 2023. The couple also owns the trucking company Buckeridge Transport and the Ballance Consignment Store.

The decommissioned chipping plant was brought into Dannevirke from Gisborne last year, to help the district with the removal of bin wood from forestry blocks.

The first complaint was received about the mill on November 21, 2024. All noise complaints since have come from within 400m to 500m of the site.

Collis, who lives not far from the mill, said if the wind was blowing in the right direction she could hear the noise.

“I can’t hear it inside the house but if you are outside sometimes I can hear what sounds like a little bit of thunder.”

Collis said the council was working through a monitoring process that looked at where the complaints had come from, how the weather could impact the noise levels and what the business could do to reduce it.

“It’s a new business and they have invested heavily and it’s in the right area.”

She said the mill was in the “industrial” part of town and had created jobs for the community. If people had concerns, they should log those with the council, she said.

A Tararua District Council spokeswoman said Buckeridge Wood Fibre engaged a professional acoustic engineer consultant to test and verify the noise emitted from the activity is compliant with the Operative District Plan and the Resource Management Act.

While not required to, the council also opted to engage an acoustic engineer to test and verify the compliance.

“Test results found the applicant engineer had modelled, tested, and demonstrated that the noise generated from the activity complies with the operative district plan standard.

“The testing conducted by the engineer engaged by council also shows that the noise generated from the activity complies with the local district plan requirements."

The council spokeswoman said the company is working with its acoustic engineer and the council’s acoustic engineer to finalise the best practicable option.

Buckeridge Wood Fibre declined to comment.

Michaela Gower joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2023 and is based out of the Hastings newsroom. She covers Dannevirke and Hawke’s Bay news and loves sharing stories about farming and rural communities.