Fulton Hogan says it would not want its trucks negotiating the Carter’s Flat Hill and going through the town. Photo: Mary Anne Gill.
The company behind plans for a giant quarry on the outskirts of Cambridge is disputing claims there will be up to 400 trucks a day travelling through the town when it begins operations.
At most there would be 10-15 trucks daily, Fulton Hogan resources manager Arthur Fulton and consents manager Jo Young told The News in an exclusive interview last week.
The company supports a northern on-ramp at the end of Tirau Road and says it is likely many trucks leaving the quarry to go north would use the new turnaround four kilometres south of the Waikato Expressway at Hydro Road
Jo Young – Consents Manager –
“We want to dispel the stories people are saying about the number of trucks (going through town), it’s just misinformation,” said Fulton.
“The reality is 200 truckloads is our absolute maximum,” said Young of the numbers likely to leave the site daily from the Newcombe Road quarry.
“Our consent will say ‘you will have to shut the gates if you get to 200 loads’,” she said.
Of those, only five percent would go through Cambridge. Few truck companies would want their truck and trailer units regularly navigating the Carter’s Flat hill – it would be cheaper to go the extra eight kilometres to and from Hydro Road and then head north, avoiding Cambridge.
New Zealand-owned Fulton Hogan, is the holding company for the proposed quarry’s operators RS Sand Ltd.
The proposed quarry site in Newcombe Road, Cambridge.
They have been researching sites in the North Island for years.
“This is not a random site we’ve chosen,” said Young.
The company says the quarry will turn over $6 million a year – pumping $4 million annually into the Cambridge community – and supply sand to concrete plants around the North Island including Cambridge. It will operate for 25 years with environmental rehabilitation done in stages.
“There is going to be an affect, there is also a benefit,” said Fulton.
He also disputed quarry neighbours’ claims there would be excessive amounts of silica dust produced. The mining would be a wet process so there would be very little dust, he said.
A resource consent application was lodged with Waipā district and Waikato regional councils in May and put on hold awaiting further information. Young said she hoped to have that with the councils in November.
Independent commissioner Rob van Voorthuysen will assess the proposal on behalf of Waipā and probably opt for a hearing because of the public interest.
A truck utilises the recently completed turnaround at the intersection of State Highway 1 and Hydro Road. Photo: Supplied.
The earliest that could run would be next year.
“We’re not here to convince the community, we just want to get the information out and let the community decide,” said Young.
“We’re here for a generation, we want to be part of the community, we know we have an effect, but we want to make sure the neighbours are okay with us,” said Fulton.
The company had consulted with iwi about cultural concerns. One raised was the impact on the Karāpiro Stream.
The company planned to plant a native forest between its site and the stream resulting in 13ha of wetlands and native bush.
See: Quarries – where they are in Waipa
See: Quarry dust up looms
A truck negotiates Carter’s Flat Hill.
