The Far North District Council (FNDC) Draft Annual Plan targets truck movements over council roads.
The IOQNZ has received the following letter from Bellingham Quarries, expressing their concerns, as follows:
Bellingham Quarries Ltd is a family owned and operated quarrying business that operate nine strategic sites around the Far North District, some which sell small volumes [of aggregate].
The Far North District Council (FNDC) have produced a “Draft Annual Plan 2012-13” in which they are proposing “A fairer rating system” where the average mine or quarry will face a rate increase of more than $28,000. Some will have increases much more than this.
The FNDC want quarries to pay for truck movements over council roads which they say are damaging them.
They are also targeting the dairying and forestry industries.
We would like to ask if there is a professional person or body in the industry that could assist us with a submission (submissions close 22nd April) and possibly help represent our industry at a FNDC hearing to be held in May 2013.
Kind regards,
Brian Bellingham
Joint Managing Director
Attached with this news item is an article from the Northland Age – 19 March 2013.
The quarrying industry supplies products for
- log-haul, rural, suburban, and city roading networks
- infrastucture projects
- concrete
- sealing chips and asphalt production
- roofing tile and cobble manufacture
- house foundations and driveways
- pipe bedding and manufacture
- gabion rock and armour rock for protection works
to name some of the key areas of this business.
It would appear that the authors of the draft plan have not considered where aggregates are used, and their attempts to extract revenue from the industry that supports everything else could be short-sighted.
See also Council working on recouping costs
Could anyone who wishes to support Bellingham Quarries with their submission, (or make a further submission to FNDC) please contact in the first instance IOQ President, Gavin Hartley