MIMICO’s Rex Davies poses with Tim Hazel of Hunua Quarry, very pleased to have picked up two prestigious awards. At the 2010 Conference, Winstone Aggregates’ Hunua Quarry was presented with the MIMICO Environmental Excellence Award.
| Hunua Quarry is the largest of Winstone Aggregates’ Auckland quarries, producing 20-25% of the region’s total demand. It was acknowledged by the MIMICO Environmental Excellence Award for the development of an Overburden Disposal Area to accommodate 650,000 cubic metres of overburden. However the area was outside the quarrying zone and in full view of numerous neighbouring landowners. The proposal’s strength was the way local iwi and the adjacent landholders and wider community were involved. The use of new visualisation technology greatly assisted the community to assess the proposal’s impacts – potentially significant given it involved changing the height of a ridgeline and altering the profile of the landscape. Changes were incorporated, noise accurately assessed, water and dust management strategies developed and a rehabilitation plan agreed. This last aspect, involving the planting of about 30,000 native trees and shrubs, while preserving views from neighbouring properties, is a standout feature of the whole programme.
|
Presenting the MIMICO Environmental Excellence Award Dr Morgan Williams, Principal, FutureSteps and former Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment commented, “this project has made a significant contribution to environmental sustainability through demonstrating what is possible with good design and close engagement with iwi and community at all stages.”