Havelock North company Te Mata Mushrooms is planning to increase its compost production by at least two thirds and possibly more than 400 per cent, despite an odour-problem history which last year cost it a $15,000 fine.
The plans are outlined in a resource consent application which was publicly notified by the Hawke's Bay Regional Council at the weekend, but the company also has plans for a possible multimillion-dollar spend on minimising the odour to acceptable standards.
The company plans to spend up to $850,000 on upgrades in increasing compost production from 120 tonnes a week to 200 tonnes. A second stage could see an even greater investment as production is stepped-up to as much as 500 tonnes.
The company marks a 50th anniversary this year, and is based in the Brookvale area, a once clearly rural area but now on the northern outskirts of Havelock North.
In an Environment Court prosecution by the Hawke's Bay Regional Council, the company last May pleaded guilty to discharging offensive and objectionable odour from the Brookvale Rd property.