Developers are considering abandoning a consented and approved 301-home project in Cambridge because of a proposed managed fill expansion nearby.
The consented housing project, called Arikirua, was approved in February last year.
It is being developed jointly by St Peter’s School, 3MS Development and Te Awa Lifecare on land owned by the school.
Meanwhile, waste disposal company ResourceCo lodged a resource consent application with Waipā District Council in October last year to extend its nearby recycling facility.
The application is still being considered.
St Peter’s School Trust board chairman John Macaskill-Smith said ResourceCo’s proposal at 3831 Cambridge Rd conflicted with the town’s long-term residential growth plans.
“Many local people may be unaware this consent application is even being considered.”
ResourceCo proposes filling an existing sand quarry with more than 1.36 million cubic metres of approved soil, including material containing low levels of contaminants.
Managed fill sites may contain soil including heavy metals, hydrocarbons, and pesticide residues, within acceptance limits.
Waipā District Council said it had not yet decided whether to grant the consent.
It classified the proposal as a non-complying activity and decided to “limited-notify”, rather than publicly notify, the application.
Its assessment identified 22 properties potentially affected by minor amounts of dust and another four potentially affected by dust and noise.
The council’s report also acknowledged strong community interest and previous complaints about ResourceCo’s existing recycling facility.
However, the council said those factors did not constitute “special circumstances” requiring public notification.
It said case law made clear that community interest alone was insufficient.
Macaskill-Smith said St Peter’s and 3MS already had consent for their 301-lot development across the Waikato River from the ResourceCo site.
“We’re sitting on a consented and approved development; it’s not like we’re waiting for anything. It’s all ready to go.”
3MS was also behind Bridleways Estate, a Cambridge West residential development with more than 250 sections, parks, walking and cycling routes, and a proposed primary school, Macaskill-Smith said.
Between Arikirua and Bridleways Estate, more than 500 residential lots are consented in the area.
Macaskill-Smith said the school, 3MS and Te Awa Lifecare believed extending the fill operation would conflict with Cambridge’s planned residential growth.
“There’s a really clear and well-articulated long-term plan for the growth of the Cambridge community, and it’s residential by nature.”
If the managed fill went ahead, Macaskill-Smith said the three parties would reconsider proceeding with Arikirua.
“If council grants the new consents for the managed fill site, we will need to seriously consider abandoning this development altogether.
“Who’s going to want to buy a section opposite that?”
Truck movements, dust, smells and the site’s proximity to the Waikato River were among the groups’ concerns.
Waipā District Council had already invested about $20 million in infrastructure to support Cambridge’s residential growth, he said.
However, the council said the $20m figure referred to the development contribution assessed against Arikirua, not money already spent on infrastructure.
If the Arikirua subdivision did not proceed, the council would reassess the development contributions model, with any shortfall not falling on existing ratepayers.
The council said it had invested significantly in roading, stormwater and other infrastructure supporting Cambridge’s growth, much of which served a wider area.
ResourceCo managing director Henry Fullerton-Smith said the proposal would rehabilitate the quarry while providing the managed fill capacity that Waipā needed.
Sand extraction had left a large quarry void that eventually needed to be filled, while the district was short of consented capacity for low-level soils generated by subdivisions, roads and infrastructure projects.
Without local capacity, material would have to be trucked further away, increasing truck movements, costs and emissions, or be sent unnecessarily to landfill.
Fullerton-Smith said the proposed volume reflected the quarry’s size and the material required to create a stable, free-draining landform.
The maximum 21m fill depth applied only to the deepest part of the quarry.
“The site will not be filled above its original landform.”
Dust and noise were among the effects the council considered during its notification assessment.
Fullerton-Smith said dust controls would include water carts and sprinklers, wheel washing, limiting active tipping areas, monitoring and progressively capping and grassing completed areas.
An acoustic assessment predicted 55 decibels (dB) at the southern boundary, above the 50dB daytime limit.
The council said that exceedance was part of the reason the boundary property was notified.
It said it would next consider the final decision and any conditions that could apply if it granted consent.
Fullerton-Smith said the noise prediction represented a worst-case scenario with all plant operating simultaneously at the closest point to the boundary.
He said ResourceCo respected the council’s notification process and affected parties had the opportunity to participate.
A joint Waipā District Council and Waikato Regional Council hearing is being organised, with a decision to follow.
Tom Eley is a multimedia journalist at the Waikato Herald. Before he joined the Hamilton-based team, he worked for the Weekend Sun and Sunlive. He previously worked as a journalist at Black Press Media in Canada and won a fellowship with the Vancouver Sun.