Proposed Oxford landfill to have day in court

An aerial view of the Woodstock Quarries Ltd site in red and the proposed quarry and landfill...
An aerial view of the Woodstock Quarries Ltd site in red and the proposed quarry and landfill operation in blue. Image: Supplied by Environment Canterbury
A proposed landfill in North Canterbury will finally have its day in court.

The Environment Court has confirmed it will hear an appeal against a decision to decline a resource consent for a landfill near Oxford on Monday, November 10.

Woodstock Quarries Ltd submitted an appeal to the court last year after its resource consent applications to develop a landfill and expand an existing quarry near Oxford were declined.

The hearing is scheduled over five days at the Environment Court in Christchurch.

The company first submitted the applications in 2021 with Environment Canterbury and the Waimakariri District Council for its quarry at 513 Trigg Road, View Hill, near Oxford.

But the application faced widespread community opposition, with 395 of the 397 submissions received opposing the landfill.

The Oxford-Ohoka Community Board was among those who submitted against the proposal, raising concerns about traffic, fire safety, dust, operational logistics and amenity effects.

Hearing commissioners declined the application in June last year, stating the applicant provided ‘‘insufficient information’’.

The commissioners concluded the project posed ‘‘unacceptable risk to nationally and regionally significant biodiversity and cultural values’’.

During the consent process, opponents questioned the need for another landfill when the Kate Valley Landfill near Waipara, in North Canterbury, had capacity.

In April last year, Woodstock Quarries Ltd director Darryn Shepherd told Local Democracy Reporting he understood the community's concerns, but he was confident the landfill would be safe.

By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter

■ LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.