Quarries approved - with conditions

The Environment Court wants strict operating conditions to limit any nuisance posed by two big quarries in rural Rodney District.

The quarries are for Redvale Lime, at Silverdale, and for Rodney Aggregate Supplies, at Whangaripo, near Matakana.

More than 100 residents appealed to the court after the Rodney District Council granted resource consent for Redvale to develop a quarry beside the Northern Motorway at Silverdale.

At Whangaripo, it was the quarry promoters who appealed to the court for consent to expand their quarry despite residents saying that would clash with lifestyle and tourism uses.

In an interim decision, Judge Laurie Newhook said the effects of the Redvale quarry would be minor if consent was tied to measures to limit noise, dust, truck movements and to screen the quarry with trees.

Residents said yesterday that they were disappointed the quarry was being allowed in an area of lifestyle blocks.

Their focus now was to get suitable conditions tagged to the consent.

Redvale managing director Paul Hopper said last night that the environmental conditions pushed up production costs.

But work had largely stopped at the 40-year-old Redvale quarry and the new quarry offered a 20-year supply for farms in the Waikato and Manawatu.

Whangaripo quarry opponents David Frith and Russell Hoffman said the court had restricted working hours to 6am to 6.30pm Monday to Saturday, and imposed a noise limit that was better than expected.

Rodney Aggregate Supplies spokesman Lindsay Crossen said the court's conditions also meant environmental and roading costs.

"We will contribute to the effects we have on the roads and that will be the norm for resource consents to develop something."

He said the quarry's boosted production was needed for making concrete structures and would be ready for the Alpurt motorway extension in Rodney.