CAMBRIDGE NEWS | 1
THURSDAY NOVEMBER 14, 2024
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NOVEMBER 14, 2024
Twists in quarry bid By Mary Anne Gill
Almost all the 347 submissions received by Waipā District Council oppose a planned sand quarry on the southern outskirts of Cambridge – but there are two surprises. Cambridge Chamber of Commerce is not one of them, but New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) is. The chamber, which represents 400 businesses, says it does not oppose the RS Sand Ltd application to establish and operate a sand quarry in Newcombe Rd but wants the resulting truck traffic kept out of Cambridge township. It is appealing for on-off ramps to allow trucks to go straight on or off Waikato Expressway into and out of Newcombe Rd. NZTA – which has resisted calls for additional on and off ramps south of Cambridge says the application should be denied because the impacts on the state highway and its infrastructure have not been sufficiently addressed. The government roading agency is responsible for the stretch of road from the intersection of Tīrau and Newcombe roads onto SH1. Principal planner Mike Wood said sightlines at the intersection were unacceptable for the volume of heavy vehicles proposed. “Heavy vehicles leaving
Newcombe Road turning left will also have an impact on the through traffic on Tīrau Road given that sand quarry heavy vehicles will be accelerating from the ‘Stop’ control at the Newcombe Rd intersection.” That would slow down other traffic heading from Tīrau Rd, past the golf course and onto SH1, he says in the submission. NZTA have consistently said it will not consider installing on-off ramps near Newcombe Rd because it considered the interchange at Hautapu, was sufficient to service Cambridge for decades when the Expressway opened in 2015. It says a state highway should not be used to take traffic off and on local roads to bypass the towns. Waipā Plan and Growth manager Wendy Robinson said of the 347 submissions made, eight supported the quarry proposal, five were neutral and the rest were against. Five of the submissions were from organisations – Fish and Game, Waikato Sustainability Society, NZ Forest and Bird, Cambridge Chamber of Commerce and NZTA. A sixth submission came from Waikato Sustainability Society, a group formed by neighbour Rhys Powell, a mining expert who maintains the project would have huge
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Remembering them
Remembrance Sunday and Armistice Day has been observed in Waipā in recent days and in Cambridge RSA president Tony Hill, left, and Cambridge Community Board chair Jo Davies-Colley were pictured during a service at the Cenotaph on Monday. Read Mary Anne Gill’s report on Page 7 today.
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health, environmental and cultural problems if allowed to go ahead. Fish and Game oppose it because the Karāpiro Stream is a trout spawning waterway and supports eels, kākahi freshwater mussels and carp. Forest and Bird are concerned about the impacts of silica discharge on local biodiversity, particularly the long tail bat which are listed in and around the proposed site. Waikato Regional Council received 257 submissions opposing the quarry, five in support and two neutral. While building on off ramps at Newcombe Rd appears an easy solution – a formed road already runs up towards the expressway – NZTA would have to buy land owned by Glenys Miller under the Public Works Act. Miller featured in The News last month saying she did not support plans for a quarry next door to her and had made a submission to both the district and regional councils. The chamber’s support of the quarry is echoed by Windsor Park Leasing, a company owned by racing legend Nelson Schick which owns property across the road on SH1 which it plans to develop into a quarry. Both parties submitted it did not support the trucks going through Cambridge
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