Wellington landfill at threat from new housing development

Concept art of how the Silverstream Forest houses might look. Photo / Guildford Timber Company

By Anya Fielding of RNZ

A Wellington landfill could struggle to renew its operating licence because of its proximity to a proposed housing development, a report for the Hutt City Council has found.

The Tonkin + Taylor report notes noise and odours from Silverstream Landfill may be too objectionable for future residents of a proposed development to renew its operational licence.

And it suggests the possibility of future rates increases being an implication if operations were reduced or stopped.

Guildford Timber Company is heading the Silverstream Forest development, planning to build up to 2000 houses in Upper Hutt.

The fast-track project would be 250m from the waste site. Currently, the nearest residential neighbours are 450m away.

The report, a “reverse sensitivity assessment”, considers how prospective residents of the development might be impacted by already existing infrastructure.

The report concluded the development’s proximity to Silverstream Landfill would result in residents experiencing “intermittent landfill odour and/or operational noise and may also experience minor issues with litter and seagulls”.

It states the effects would be “significant” to the operations of the landfill.

It suggested the waste facility may have to invest more money into mitigating noise and odours or change its operating schedules to reduce impacts on residents.

As a result, the report noted renewing the landfill’s operational licence past its 2039 expiry date may be “more difficult to obtain” or “may not be obtainable”.

If operations ceased or were reduced, Hutt City Council would have to organise alternative garbage disposal and would likely receive reduced funding for landfill aftercare, which was calculated on the full life expectancy of a landfill, the report said.

The report estimated that rates would have to increase between 4 to 10% annually to keep up with these higher costs.

RNZ has requested comment from Hutt City Council and Guildford Timber Company.

Guildford Timber Company (GTC) is looking to develop 330ha of its land for up to 2000 homes in Silverstream, a 30-minute drive from Wellington’s CBD.

The project has been in the works since 2007.

GTC’s website for the development says it wants to develop houses where people will “live closer to nature”.

It suggests that undeveloped land it owns could be turned into a “public reserve with accessible walkways and cycleways”.

Upper Hutt City Council owns the land known as the Silverstream Spur, where GTC would like to build a road it views as essential to the project.

The council voted to rezone this land as a natural open space, which would not allow for the development of a road on the land.

GTC is appealing the decision in the Environment Court.

-RNZ