Te Mata Mushrooms: It was there first, but its need to move became inevitable

Te Mata Mushrooms is closing its Havelock North operation, and shifting to Central Hawke's Bay. Photo / Warren Buckland

OPINION: There's a certain genre of news stories that can be summed up by the headline "neighbours at war".

They're generally exciting and lapped up by readers because there's nothing like a complete breakdown of what should be a mutually beneficial relationship to help us examine the human psyche. The detail in them can be riotous.

But in every "neighbours at war" story, readers know deep down what will eventually happen.

Every one of these stories ends the same way. The most powerful one wins. They get to stay on their now peaceful patch of land. The other neighbour has to leave.

In that respect, it really is war.

And so it was proved again as a long-standing Hawke's Bay business decided it couldn't mend the relationship with its neighbours, and didn't have the power to push back.

Te Mata Mushrooms will now set up shop 70 kilometres away instead.

The mushroom facility on the outskirts of Havelock North is a fascinating "neighbours at war" case study, because it was the problem, but it was also there first.

For those of you who haven't been following this, the mushroom farm was in a rural slice of heaven when it started operating in the late 1960s and early 70s.

Mushrooms will no longer be able to be bought from the Brookvale Rd site. Photo / NZME

But when Havelock North expanded, developers chose land near the mushrooms as an area where they could build homes, and mighty fine ones at that.

And when the well-heeled moved in to them, some didn't like the compost they were smelling across the fence. They complained to the Hawke's Bay Regional Council.

From that moment on, Te Mata Mushrooms' days at the facility were numbered.

Despite their plight, I have little sympathy for the mushroom growers. No human or business, be they rural or urban dwellers, have a right to pollute the air with offensive and objectionable fumes so they can make a profit.

And without seeing the fungi financials, it's possible the company's citing of "urban encroachment" (aka blaming the bloody neighbours) is a handy way to justify cutting 90 jobs.

But I think Te Mata Mushrooms is entitled to feel a pang of injustice at the way this has played out.

Earlier in 2022 the suburb of Bromley in Christchurch dealt with an absolute shocker of a smell for months, but its council didn't swing fully into "compensation" and "apology" mode until the fumes started drifting on to suburbs with higher-priced homes too.

The three places with some of the worst smells in NZ history (or at least the biggest fines) are Eltham, Waharoa and Tuakau - not exactly towns renowned for million-dollar property.

I can't help but feel that had there had been social or affordable housing built next door, instead of suburban affluence, the mushroom farm would've had more of a chance.

We can now only wish Te Mata Mushrooms the best at its new home, near Takapau.

The average house value there is roughly $300K lower than the Hawke's Bay average.