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Kings Quarry at Pebble Brook Road, Wainui, has gained approval under the Fast-track Approvals Act 2024 to expand its existing quarrying operation.
This will allow them to extract and process up to 500,000 tonnes of aggregate per year for 45 years.
The independent expert panel said the proposal met the Fast-Track Approval criteria in that it would support Auckland’s ongoing growth by providing a local source of aggregate close to areas of demand in North Auckland. The panel accepted Kings Quarry’s position that sourcing material locally would reduce transport distances, lowering costs, improving road safety outcomes and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The project is also expected to retain 21 existing jobs over the life of the quarry.
However, a number of Wainui residents strongly opposed the expansion, raising concerns about visual impacts, loss of indigenous vegetation, effects on waterways, air and noise pollution, and increased heavy vehicle traffic on narrow rural roads. Some residents on Haruru Road and Pebble Brook Road said the quarry would be a constant presence in their outlook, with potential effects on property values and slope stability. Others criticised what they saw as gaps in the original landscape assessment, particularly for Haruru Road.
The expansion will require the staged removal of about 28.97ha of indigenous vegetation across the A-Pit, B-Pit and accessway areas over the life of the project, and about 2.4km of permanent stream loss.
To address those effects, Kings Quarry proposed a package of mitigation, offsetting and compensation measures. These include restoring 3.4km of stream, rehabilitating about 17,420sqm of wetlands, and removing a weir on the Waitoki Stream to improve fish passage and freshwater connectivity.
Auckland Council’s reviewer acknowledged the permanent loss of the stream length, but said the proposed wetland restoration and improved fish migration represented a “trading up” of ecological values, especially as wetlands are a nationally threatened habitat type.
Ecological offsets will be delivered in part at a site on Oldfield Road near Wellsford, about 26km north of the quarry. The rural property, currently in pasture, sits within a wider ecological corridor linking restoration projects and kiwi habitat. The panel accepted that the offset site would deliver long-term biodiversity benefits.
Wildlife approvals cover native lizards, including copper skinks and forest and elegant geckos. The applicant acknowledged some incidental harm during vegetation clearance but committed to capture and relocation programmes, supported by the Department of Conservation.
While recognising the adverse landscape and visual effects on neighbouring properties, the panel said the site’s Special Purpose – Quarry zoning clearly anticipates mineral extraction. On balance, it found the regional benefits and proposed mitigation sufficient to approve the expansion but recommended sealing Pebble Brook Road to reduce dust, vibrations and noise caused by the increased heavy vehicle use.
