Saddle Hill Community Board
An unscheduled visit by Dunedin City Council chief executive Sandy Graham to the Saddle Hill Community Board meeting on June 5 was an opportunity for board members to press her on a range of issues.
A key topic of discussion was the recent confirmation the Dunedin City Council has allocated $92.4 million for a new landfill at Smooth Hill.
As the Green Island landfill nears capacity, councillors voted on May 28 to finance Smooth Hill so it could open by 2030.
Chairman Paul Weir highlighted about $92m was "a lot of money" and asked why the council had not opted to export rubbish to AB Lime’s existing landfill at Winton in Southland, which he considered might have been a better option environmentally and cost-wise.
Ms Graham said the council’s full business case ran to "many, many hundreds of pages" and compared every alternative.
Smooth Hill offered lower long-term costs, greater resilience and control over Dunedin’s waste stream, while environmental issues had been addressed through the resource-consent process.
Deputy chairman Scott Weatherall called into question the level of community consultation, highlighting there was outdated consultation that happened back in the 1990s.
However, Ms Graham rejected that view.
She agreed consultation on the original designation dated from the 1990s but Smooth Hill had been included in the 2021–31 long-term plan and the latest draft plan.
Council staff had provided repeated updates to the board, she said.
Board member Keith McFadyen asked whether the council had exploited a change in wetland legislation by lodging its consent application days before tougher rules took effect.
Ms Graham confirmed the timing was deliberate.
"It was a strategic decision on my part to put the consent application in under the old law to preserve as many options for council as we could," she said, adding councils sometimes had to make such calls.
Mr Weatherall raised environmental safety, saying he had heard there was an expectation leachate would leak.
Ms Graham cut him short: "There is no expectation from the city that there will be leachate leaking, and that is not correct.
"The design is for all leachate to be retained, collected and transported for treatment."
Mr Weatherall asked why Dunedin International Airport, once "adamant" about bird-strike risk, withdrew its appeal almost overnight, suggesting it coincided with a change of management.
Ms Graham said negotiations on a detailed bird-management plan had satisfied the airport’s concerns and the issue was unrelated to changes in airport management.
Board member John Moyle asked about revenue streams for the new landfill site.
Ms Graham said Smooth Hill could accept outside waste streams for a fee, though the council would need to balance extra income against shortening the landfill’s lifespan.
Board member Keith McFadyen asked about how trucks would travel to the planned new site, hoping to dispel rumours that trucks might use Big Stone Rd.
Ms Graham said to the best of her knowledge, rubbish trucks would reach the site via State Highway 1 and McLaren Gully Rd.
"Part of that $92m is to get that road to a standard where the trucks can easily access the site."
Mr Weir asked what benefits the Brighton-Saddle Hill area might see from hosting the landfill, such as road improvements.
Ms Graham said the McLaren Gully Rd upgrade was certain and ecological restoration around the site would aid local habitats, but she had not yet considered it further because funding had only just been confirmed.
Mr Weatherall shared what he considered the personal toll of the debate, saying board representatives faced community dissent over their perceived alliance with the council.
Ms Graham acknowledged the pressure.
She recognised landfill issues were "polarising" and praised the board’s passion for the community.
Mr Weatherall said board members had never been shown the exact location.
Ms Graham said staff members believed they had toured the area with him in the past but accepted plans for a wider visit had fallen over due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
She offered to arrange a formal inspection of the Smooth Hill and Green Island landfills for both the current and incoming boards, suggesting it could form part of the new board’s induction after the October local-body election.
Before Ms Graham’s departure, some local infrastructure issues were discussed.
Mr Weir asked for an update on Waldronville resident Ian Arthur’s complaints about waterways that could flood Friendship Dr.
Ms Graham said she believed a solution was "being worked through" .
Mr Weir also highlighted Old Brighton Rd, which often flooded when it rained, and asked about clearing a blocked drain on private land.
Ms Graham said she would follow up, but noted private property rights were sometimes "quite challenging".
