Townsfolk ponder court challenge to big quarry plan

By Wayne Thompson

The Pokeno Protection Association may challenge in the High Court the way 30ha of farmland was zoned for the country's largest quarry.

Last December, Franklin District Council commissioners declined to grant resource consents that would have enabled Winstone Aggregates Ltd to establish the quarry near the township.

Winstone is appealing against that decision to the Environment Court.

But the association is considering an additional line of defence against the quarry.

Its lawyer, Nathan Pritchard, confirmed yesterday that a decision would be made this week whether to apply for a High Court review of how the district council went about rezoning rural land for a quarry and quarry buffer zone.

The association members were challenging whether the rezoning was fair and whether the correct process was followed under the Resource Management Act.

Mr Pritchard said that in May 1994 the council notified its proposed district plan and it made no mention of the quarry provision. The change came later as a result of submissions made by Winstone, without residents knowing.

"The residents believe the submission process should not have been used to achieve the quarry zone," said Mr Pritchard.

The buffer zone affected about 10 neighbours of the quarry because it imposed severe restrictions on what they could do with their land, he said.

If the review were sought, it should be dealt with before the Environment Court appeal, because Winstone was relying on the quarry zoning to make its resource consent application.

The resource development director of Winstone Aggregates, Richard Compton, said the company was disappointed that the zoning issue was being raised now after all these years. It could be viewed cynically as an attempt to delay the company having its appeal heard.

Mr Pritchard said the zoning issue had not been raised earlier because of the need to focus efforts on fighting the consent bid.

The commissioners found that it was unacceptable to have up to 400 quarry trucks rolling through the township daily.

Mr Compton said Winstone was reviewing quarry access routes and hoped to sort out this and other issues in mediation with the association and council.