Coromandel residents are taking their fight against a $30 million sawmill to the Environment Court.
At a meeting in Whangapoua, north of Coromandel town, last night, 40 people voted to appeal the decision granting Blue Mountain Lumber the right to build the mill near the seaside beach town.
A behind-closed-doors meeting washeld by the Whangapoua Environment Protection Society (Weps) but spokesman Paul Bibby told the Waikato Times other people joined the meeting in support.
"We had about 40 people when it really was meant to be a meeting of our Weps executive," Mr Bibby said. "It was passed unanimously to appeal to the Environment Court.
"There is a feeling of anger directed at the councils (Thames-Coromandel district and Environment Waikato), and the company, of course.
"The mayor has come out and said what a great thing it is to industrialise the northern part of the peninsula.
"You can imagine how that went down."
Mr Bibby said that "at a rough stab" the appeal process would cost $50,000.
Weps had already spent $35,000 fighting the consent process, all raised in the community.
The organisation would see if it was eligible for Environment Ministry funding and would raise the difference through "fundraising and begging".
Blue Mountain Lumber operations manager Matthew Hitchings said he was "disappointed but not surprised" about the decision to appeal.
"We'll be interested to understand what the logic for their appeal is, which I guess will unfold over time."
Meanwhile, Te Rerenga School principal Sharon Williams said she and the school board were taking a neutral position on the sawmill issue because it was dividing many in the community.
"We have hugely diverse opinions among our parent population," Ms Williams said.
"Our board decided not to put a submission in but we did write a letter voicing our concerns over the increased traffic flow."
The school caters for 71 students aged five to 13 and is on State Highway 25, the main road mill logging trucks will use. The school's priority was to protect the health and safety of students, Ms Williams said.
