Massive proposed earthworks sparks concern for environmental restoration

Friday, 14 August 2020

A pair of pou rahui now stand as sentinels at Mawaihakona Stream in Upper Hutt.

A popular green space north of Wellington is at risk if the equivalent of 220 Olympic-sized swimming pools of clean fill are placed around the site for a proposed development, locals say.

Work on the land adjacent to St Patrick’s College at Silverstream, Upper Hutt, would raise the area by 3 metres using 550,000 cubic metres of fill. It is the site of the Mawaihakona Stream, which has been subject to an ecological restoration project and is a popular recreation area.

Bart Hogan is a co-ordinator for the Friends of the Mawaihakona stream, which has been restoring the waterway and its banks since 2002. He said the development threatened the restoration in which over 10,200 trees had been planted.

Friends of the Mawaihakona Stream co-ordinator Bart Hogan says proposed plans to develop land in Upper Hutt, could threaten a large proportion of the group’s restoration project. The group has planted more than 10,000 trees along the margins of the waterway.

Hogan said an agreement with the school, which is administered by the Society of Mary, a Catholic congregation also known as the Marist Fathers, allowed for a 20m green corridor either side of the stream. He said recent discussions with the society revealed this margin could be cut to 12m.

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A proposed development of land next to St Patrick's College, Silverstream would see 550,000 cubic metres of earth used to raise the 10 hectare site for flood protection.

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“If we get 12m, we’ll lose half of our bloody planting.”

The stream sits on a 19 hectare block and belongs to the society, which commissioned reports into how the project might impact the ecology and landscape. The land is also used for grazing, and is the site of a golf course, driving range and a Riding for the Disabled facility.

The land is zoned for urban development but is part of a flood plain, and needs to be raised in order to be built on.

The reports estimate 50 trucks a day would be required to dump earth at the site in two stages – the first taking five years and the other two years.

Silverstream resident Mike Horner said the proposed development could ruin a well-used green space. He acknowledged the land belonged to the society but felt there should have been consultation with the wider community.

A flyer advertising similar concerns, as well as “dust, dirt and destruction” was also circulating in the community.

Ben Gurton, a project manager for project management company RCP, spoke to Stuff on behalf of the Society of Mary. He said 12m either side of the stream would “enable public access and the ecological values to be maintained for the long-term”.

He said the organisations could work together to achieve a mutually satisfactory outcome. They would examine the stream to determine the extent of the planting - that information would help determine the width of the margins.

Consent applications for the earthworks had been lodged with the Greater Wellington Regional and Upper Hutt City councils, he said.

Gurton said no decision had yet been made on what was to be built on the clean fill. One of the reports mentioned a “proposed village”.

In a statement the board of Riding for the Disabled said the school had been in contact with them, and they were comfortable with the proposed plans.

Management at the golf facility declined to comment.