By the Numbers – $20m subdivision ‘on contaminated site’
A $20 million residential subdivision planned at the southern gateway to Taupo will be built on a disused council landfill and sheep dip, containing contaminants including arsenic.
Taupo district councillor Bernhard Chrustowski presented evidence at a resource consent hearing that he said showed the developers had a bad track record in dealing with potentially dangerous sites.
But developer Carrus Corporation has rejected the video evidence showing flooding, lakefront erosion, and dust storms at a previous development – which bordered Mr Chrustowski’s Taupo house – as “glorified” and taken out of context.
The Tauranga property developer is seeking resource consent for Wharewaka East subdivision. It hopes to build 489 lots on former Landcorp farmland between the proposed eastern Taupo arterial bypass and State Highway 1. The area is on land owned by Taupo District Council within a 85-hectare (210-acre) subdivision.
A consent hearing for the proposal was heard before independent commissioners Bill Wasley and Alan Watson in Taupo last week.
Environmental scientist Joanne Chizmar told the hearing that three soil samples, from 28 taken on site, included contaminants containing heavy metals, pesticides and hydrocarbons. She said sample results indicated the site would be suitable for residential use but recommended that contaminants be stabilised by adding lime and buried onsite, or excavated and disposed of offsite.
Mr Chrustowski told the hearing the health of nearby residents would be at risk from breathing in dust particles containing contaminants.
He said Carrus Corporation’s previous developments in Taupo had not been good at complying with resource consent conditions. Carrus Corporation has been involved in three subdivisions in Taupo – Vaucluse, LochViews and Wharewaka Pt. He produced evidence at the hearing which he said showed flooding, lakefront erosion, and dust storms from Carrus Corporation’s Wharewaka Pt subdivision development opposite the proposed Wharewaka East site.
Carrus director Jim Lochhead described the damage shown in Mr Chrustowski’s evidence as “glorified”, taken out of context and having no relevance to the subdivision.
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