Matarangi wetland bulldozing: Residents launch petition

More than 2200 petitioners are calling on the Waikato Regional Council to enforce replanting of a 20ha Matarangi wetland bulldozed by a housing developer.

Residents say displaced wildlife is turning up in town after vegetation clearance at the edge of Matarangi by contractors for Winton.

An abatement notice remains on the wetland site.

Winton said it was unable to comment during an investigation by the regional council.

"Winton must wait for this process to be completed before providing comment beyond the detailed statement already shared."

Winton's Beaches development chief operating officer Simon Ash had previously said it was "incredibly disappointing given all the necessary steps to do the work responsibly were followed, including to notify the district council before starting".

Petition author Peter Collins said the community was angry.

"They're absolutely outraged ... the community wants the land protected forever."

Collins filmed areas of cleared trees and a platform of infilled soil on the wetland site. He said it was "unfathomable" that councils did not check and halt the work.

He said many in the community were backing a full reinstatement of native plants and a halt on any housing, calling on the regional council to permanently protect the habitat.

"We have 20ha of wetlands that we want reinstated, replanted and made predator free to help the native wildlife re-establish itself. This wetland deserves being saved for future generations to learn from our mistakes and how regeneration of native habitats can be successfully done before it's too late and it's lost forever.

"The birdlife in there was amazing until this happened."

People had reported wild pigs in the residential part of Matarangi and an unusual number of birds, Collins said.

"That's unheard of in this part of town and I am sure it's because they have been displaced. Where are they going to go?"

Thames-Coromandel District Council staff had liaised with Winton in June last year requesting permission for the removal of a 10m-wide canopy of trees on their land to provide a line of sight for a radio signal from its water treatment plant in the area.

A letter from consultancy Tattico, acting on behalf of Winton, notified the district council on August 12, 2021, of removal of a different area of trees that it described as "an awful lot of scrub and pine/gum which Winton wants to get under control".

The letter, seen by the HC Post, said "a couple of nice trees" would be retained as would a buffer of trees 20m from the Department of Conservation reserve.

"The other land in the middle will be cleared. The land will be mulched, and the mulch left on the ground as groundcover.

"Obviously, there are no tree protection controls in the plan and there are no scheduled trees or other tree issues on this part of Matarangi. However, I am also aware that you could well get public inquiries once the works start.

"Winton has not got a specific start date yet, but they are acutely conscious that the summer peak period needs to be avoided. They will not be having any work done on Labour Weekend and will certainly have all works well and truly completed before December."

According to correspondence released to Forest & Bird under the Official Information Act and seen by the HC Post, the next day district council staff told Winton to contact the Waikato Regional Council before starting the work as the land was a Significant Natural Area in regional council policies.

The district council told the company its land was the most highly prioritised conservation lot notation in its proposed district plan, indicating potentially significant biodiversity and habitat values.

Council staff said based on Winton's description of the vegetation as not native, protection rules would not be triggered. However, they were not familiar with the area or aware of the scale, location or details, suggesting a biodiversity specialist be engaged and contact made with the regional council.

The district council has since confirmed to the HC Post it did no site visits and did not alert the regional council to the work.

On midnight August 17, 2021, all of New Zealand moved to alert level 4.

Collins said he first learned of the clearance the following month, in September, and raised alarms with the district council.

"I called TCDC three times, and others from the community did too, and the council were telling people the clearance was for their water treatment plant."

The information released under the Official Information Act shows in June this year, the district council followed up with Winton to confirm exactly what was cleared and how it complied with the regional council's significant natural area policy.

Winton replied there was no specific protection of the subject site within the regional plan.

"There are no ecological, SNA or outstanding landscape controls on the subject site in either the Regional Policy Statement, regional plan or district plan.

"As you are probably aware, the regional council has confirmed that from their perspective there has been no issues of non-compliance with their rules. They are going to visit the site at some stage. Beaches Development Limited recognise that if there is to be subsequent earthworks on the site or if the land is to be used other than for permitted rural activity, then that will trigger some form of application."

Waikato Regional Council regional compliance manager Patrick Lynch told the HC Post the council remained "open minded" about the clearance.

"We are acutely aware of the significance of this wetland and despite the loss of our own investigative staff in recent months, we have engaged the services of a contract investigator who is actively following up lines of inquiry. We will ensure that the matter is investigated thoroughly."

He said compliance staff could not be in all places at all times and were grateful for information from members of the public when they saw something that did not look right.

Residents who notice any effects from the activity should call 0800 800 401 so information is included in the investigation.

"The parties that are involved in this activity can proactively remediate any environmental effects, at any time, without need for regulatory intervention from us. We encourage them to do so.

"As well as significant financial penalties and criminal convictions, remediation for breaches of environmental regulation can also be one of the outcomes of enforcement action ...

"We are still in the information-gathering phase and that can take some time. We remain open minded as to the circumstances around the activities at the Matarangi wetland until such time as our formal investigation is complete."

The Thames-Coromandel District Council referred the HC Post to its previous statement in which it said it did not approve the clearance of native vegetation and had told Winton on August 13 to contact the Waikato Regional Council before starting the work because of the potential biodiversity and habitat values of the area.

"We pointed out that although Winton's letter informing us of vegetation clearance on the site appeared to indicate that no indigenous vegetation was to be removed, in case any was found they should be aware of Section 29 of TCDC's Proposed District Plan (PDP), which covers indigenous vegetation clearance. We also pointed out that the Winton land consists of a conservation lot notation under the PDP and that it is the most highly prioritised conservation lot notation under our PDP.

"We noted that the land is also within a High Priority Significant Natural Area (SNA) under the Regional (Waikato Regional Council) Plan/Policies, which would seem to indicate that there could be potential significant biodiversity and habitat values associated with this area. We also informed Winton of the land's proximity to estuarine margins and the recent NES on Freshwater and Wetlands which is administered by the Waikato Regional Council."