KEY POINTS:
Residents of a small Franklin town say a proposed quarry could put lives at risk in their community with dozens of trucks thundering through the main street each day.
Sheree Brock, a Buckland resident for the past 13 years, said the proposed sand dredge quarry near Tuakau would
see up to 180 trucks passing through Buckland village, which consists of a community hall, a monument and a recently opened dairy, six days a week.
She and other Buckland residents want the Franklin District Council to consider a bylaw enforcing a bypass of the area for trucks or at least an alternative route for trucks.
Ms Brock was also critical of road improvements in the area which she believed were done for the sake of the quarry by the council without public consultation.
"They've redesigned and put another lane in on Buckland Rd and this has been all drawn up and planned to accommodate the trucks and we haven't even been told about it," she said.
"This is what we can't believe, our council is doing all these things behind our backs. We are not happy with it, we feel we are not even getting listened to or being given a chance.
"Our main thing is it's like a done deal before the hearing has even gone ahead."
But Franklin Mayor Mark Bull attacked claims that road improvements in the area were part of a deal it had with the quarry's owners as "conspiracy theories that are absolutely not true".
"When is enough consultation enough? It's difficult trying to find that balance when you have attended public meetings where all of this was discussed.
"The community knew there were opportunities for submissions and many had chosen to submit evidence in advance of the hearings."
Franklin's long-term council community plan identified areas of Buckland and Logan Rds needing maintenance "a long time ago".
Mr Bull said he sympathised with the public's concerns but it was important for residents to wait for the findings from a group of independent commissioners who are considering the quarry's resource consent application, which are due at the end of next month.
The council and the Auckland Regional Council are considering a resource consent application from Perry Resource Management for the sand dredge quarry.
Perry Resource Management general manager Mike Lord acknowledged the community's concerns but disputed the number of trucks passing through the township each day as "an absolute worst-case scenario".
"Obviously we are going to have some effect but we can't control the number of trucks that come through the area.
"I can say, however, that not all of these trucks will actually go through Buckland.
"Some will go to the Waikato, some will completely bypass the town and even with huge growth I don't think we'd even get close to that number for years."
