Consents Granted for Whitford Quarry

Media Release
13 March 2007

Consents Granted for Whitford Quarry

Consent has been granted to Manukau City Council to expand the operations of the Whitford Quarry. The consent was granted after intensive discussions with local residents to resolve questions about environmental and operational issues.

“This is excellent for both the city and for the region,” Manukau Mayor Sir Barry Curtis says.

“The high quality rock from the Whitford Quarry is an important resource for the construction industry, given the major infrastructure projects underway and continuing city growth.”

The rock quarry is operated by Fulton Hogan on behalf of the owners Manukau City Council.

“The consent is the outcome of two years of hard work by Fulton Hogan, the Whitford Community and Manukau City Council,” Fulton Hogan Regional Manager Brian Kirtlan says.

“We believe the results are worth the huge amount of effort from everyone involved, to ensure that we have the right outcomes.

The consent allows the quarry to extract 500,000 tonnes of rock per annum and recognises the community’s concerns. After the initial consent hearings, the council and Fulton Hogan consulted with the community and the immediate neighbours to the quarry. The parties then agreed a range of additional measures beyond those the commissioners thought necessary in their original decision.

This included an additional 7.7 hectares of bush being protected and another 1.2 hectares of bush being replanted. Stockpiling operations are to be modified. In addition, there will be measures put in place to protect Awakarihi Pa.

Discussions also involved the operators of the Whitford Landfill, Waste Disposal Services - a joint venture between the Council and Transpacific Industries (NZ) Ltd. Close cooperation with the landfill has meant the overall impact of the site’s operations on the community has been minimised.

ENDS

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