Gravel excavation bid on hold

An application to excavate gravel from a fertile Waimea Plains farm has not only been significantly downsized, but is now on hold.

A three-day hearing was scheduled to start at the Tasman District Council this coming Monday, when the council's major roading contractor, Downer EDI Works, would seek permission to extract gravel from Eden Farm, alongside the Waimea River.

However, the company has postponed the hearing date to "reassess" the application, which has been significantly amended since it was first submitted.

The application attracted 51 mainly opposing submissions during the consultation phase in June and July. It has a long and complex history, with a report written by council staff members showing frustration over its lack of information.

That report also shows there is likely to be less gravel in the area than the applicant thinks and that the farm is prone to flooding.

Downer EDI Works' initial application last November sought to excavate up to 650,000 cubic metres of gravel in three stages, covering 20 hectares of land over a period of 25 years. The council had reservations about the application, suggesting it be withdrawn or amended to exclude stages two and three.

Downer EDI Works declined the advice but, after considering the submissions, withdrew stages two and three in October this year. The new application is seeking to extract only 234,000 cubic metres of gravel over eight hectares.

A report on the application, written by council consent planner Mike Mackiggan, recommended the consent be approved but with a long list of conditions. He advised 1.6 hectares of the "high-class soil" within the application area be left alone.

The application seeks to excavate gravel to an average depth of three metres and reinstate one metre of clean fill, reducing the ground level by two metres. Mr Mackiggan's report, which takes into consideration the advice of council scientists, states that the groundwater levels may be up to one metre higher than assumed by the applicants.

Downer EDI Works Nelson-Marlborough branch manager Andrew Neville said the hearing was postponed for a range of reasons. The company was happy with its assessment of groundwater levels and the amount of gravel at the site. One of the issues, however, was land ownership. The Eden family leased some of the farmland off the district council, he said.

"We are reassessing the viability of the project from a business perspective. We will be examining all of the information available before making a decision as to whether or not we will follow through with the hearing at a later date," Mr Neville said.

Council property manager Jim Frater said the lease to the Eden family would expire in June 2012, which might allow the council to consider using part or all of that land for a Waimea River park.

Council resource scientist Glenn Stevens found that groundwater levels might be up to one metre higher than assumed by the applicants.

"Therefore, the volumes of gravel available for excavation may be reduced by up to 50 per cent accordingly," he said.

In the report, council coastal resource scientist Eric Verstappen said the excavation site could be considered "almost certain" to be subject to surface flooding during the period of consent sought.