Complains may force business to close

A Masterton businessman who has been operating a sandblasting workshop on Black Rock Road for five years says he was told by the Wellington Regional Council he had less than two weeks to move on or close down because his business is too noisy and dirty.
Steve MacArthur, owner of Wairarapa Sandblasting, said was told on Thursday he had until March 16 to move out or face prosecution.
"Basically I'm just another little guy getting shoved out and I've got a family to feed," said Mr MacArthur.
He said he was first approached by the regional council three weeks ago concerning a complaint it had received from a neighbour about the noise and dust created by his sandblasting machinery.
Mr MacArthur said he was never given a chance to alter his shed or make any changes before he was ordered to close.
Wairarapa Sand Blasting 2000 operates out of an engineering workshop on a rural property east of Masterton.
"Three weeks ago a guy from the council came out and told me a neighbour had made a complaint. He said I had to do something to contain the sand and noise. I took it with a grain of salt. I was going to get a resource consent but I didn't act on it that week because I got snowed under and then this happens," he said.
Mr MacArthur said he now realises that the regional council has a requirement for resource consent but he was given no opportunity to make changes.
"I'm not blaming the guys from the Wellington Regional Council, but I have a job to do. I need to put food on the table," he said.
"It seems so unfair that I haven't even had a chance to make it a dust- free zone," he says.
Mr MacArthur said the area was a light industrial zone and he believed that he was legally operating from the building. He showed the Times-Age the consent that the building had under previous management to operate a "rural-related light engineering workshop".
He said he was told by the WRC that he would need to get a resource consent for his sandblasting business.
"Ignorant me, not being the fizziest drink in the fridge, (I) never thought about getting a resource consent," he says.
He said he was told that there would be a meeting between him and the regional council and the Masterton District Council over changes that had to be made, but the meeting never happened, and a week later he was served with the notice telling him he had to cease operating his sandblasting machinery by March 16.
He said closing his business will affect many people and his family's livelihood.
He consulted a community lawyer who told him that he essentially has four options:
n Stay on and be prosecuted.
n Fight the order in court, which he says he cannot afford.
n Find a new premises, which he also cannot afford because he has a favourable arrangement with the landowner at his current location.
n Close the business
"This going to disrupt so many people. I want to stay here and I like it here," he says.
"If I shut down completely, I will be going bankrupt," he said.
Mr MacArthur said he didn't think he would get resource consent because he needed permission from his neighbour, who he says is making the complaints.
The neighbour did not want comment on record to the Times-Age.
Mr MacArthur said the sandblasting equipment which is causing the complaints only operates and average of two hours a day and does not create enough dust to cover much distance.