Landfill petition presented to Canterbury community board

Supporters of the Oxford Community Petition met with Oxford-Ohoka Community Board members, chairperson, Sarah Barkle, far left, Niki Mealings, fifth from left, and deputy chair Thomas Robson, second from right, in Oxford to present them with the petition. PHOTO: SHELLEY TOPP

By Shelley Topp

A petition opposing Woodstock Quarries’ application to expand an existing quarry at View Hill into a landfill has been presented to Oxford-Ohoka Community Board members.

The landfill resource consent application for 513 Trig Rd was denied last June by three independent commissioners - Rob Enright, Ngaire Philips and Dean Chrystal.

They said the proposal suffered from material information gaps, particularly in relation to actual and potential effects of the proposal on values of regional and national importance.

Since then the petition has attracted more support and now has 1700 signatures.

It was presented to the community board chairwoman Sarah Barkle and deputy chairman Thomas Robson in Oxford earlier this month.

Waimakariri district councillor Niki Mealings, who is also an Oxford-Ohoka Community Board member, also attended the handover.

Sarah said the Oxford community felt ‘‘a huge sense of relief’’ when the commissioners’ decision was announced.

‘‘They thought the fight was over.’’

But that was short-lived soon after when the applicant filed an appeal to the Environment Court.

‘‘One of the biggest problems with this proposal is the hazardous waste going into the hole,’’ Sarah says.

‘‘If this landfill is approved it sets a precedent for other similar resource consent applications to be approved. Waimakariri is not a dumping ground.

It is important to note that if this goes ahead, once the landfill has been sealed off it eventually gets inherited by the regional council and our future generations.

‘‘It is so important that we make sure we don't make a mistake here and let anything through that could cause problems for our environment and future.’’

Other concerns, as laid out in the petition, include transport effects, leachate contamination, and other ecological effects, dust effects on groundwater recharge areas and surface water bodies and impacts on Oxford as a tourism destination.

One of the petition organisers, Oxford’s Shirley Farrell, says they wanted to present the petition to the community board members because they would be supporting them during the Environment Court appeal.

However, they also hoped the presentation would remind the community that the fight to prevent the landfill being established in their backyard isn’t over.

A date for the Environment Court hearings has not been finalised yet to allow the applicant, Darryn Shepherd, owner of Woodstock Quarries, time to collect further information to support his case.