Far North quarry expansion dispute deepens as residents allege council breach

Residents living near the Puketona Quarry fear rezoning errors will leave them exposed to dust and noise.

Frustration is mounting among Puketona residents as the fight over a proposed quarry expansion intensifies, with locals now accusing the Far North District Council (FNDC) of failing to follow due process.

Puketona, Haruru and Waitangi residents expressed concerns about plans to rezone a buffer area between a new subdivision and a neighbouring quarry.

The disputed block, known locally as The Blob, sits between a new subdivision and Puketona Quarry and rezoning could extend the existing Mineral Extraction Zone to include the entire adjoining lot, allowing extraction from The Blob.

Residents said The Blob was mistakenly included in the Mineral Extraction Zone proposal and have expressed concerns about dust, noise and water quality, among others.

The FNDC previously admitted that The Blob may have been added to the Mineral Extraction Zone in error, but said corrections are complicated and may only be resolved through appeals.

Despite acknowledging this mistake, the council is continuing to treat the overlay as legitimate and is using it as the basis for converting the property into a full Mineral Extraction Zone under the Proposed District Plan.

“They’re basically saying: ‘yes, there might have been a mistake, but you have to live with it’. That’s not fair. We’re the ones facing dust, noise, blasting, and falling property values,” said one resident.

Residents argue this is a fundamental breach of process under the Resource Management Act.

“Such a change requires robust environmental, cultural, and social impact assessments – none of which have been carried out. Instead, what began as an acknowledged error is being treated as a planning baseline to enable quarry expansion,” said Protect Puketona spokesperson Jeff Archer.

“This isn’t just about a quarry,” he said. “It’s about whether people can trust the planning process. If councils can sneak in major changes at the back end, community rights are meaningless.”

Archer said council officers have privately acknowledged inconsistencies in how the framework was drafted, but their official position is that the error is now “embedded in the plan” and would be very difficult to reverse.

The Northland Age put this and other allegations made by the residents to council.

Group manager for planning and policy, Roger Ackers said; “When reviewing and drafting a District Plan, the council must follow policy and legislative guidelines. We are confident that we have adhered closely to those guidelines and have followed due process”.

Residents said they feel blindsided and betrayed but not defeated and plan to intensify calls for FNDC to halt the planned rezoning and restart the process with full public notification and fresh consultation with iwi, heritage groups, and affected landowners.

“Council signed off on our homes, then turned around and backed a quarry next door,” said one resident. “It feels like the rules have been rewritten under our feet.”

Council has told residents that if the rezoning proceeds, they can contest the quarry expansion later at the resource consent stage, when the operator lodges its application.

Residents argue this is a dangerous and unfair approach – shifting the burden of fixing a council error on to private residents who will face an expensive and drawn-out legal battle.

“We should not be forced to pay to correct a mistake the council has already admitted to,” one landowner said.

“We’re not going away. This is our community, our homes, and our future. If council won’t protect it, we will.”