Council approves land use consents for Curio Bay dairy farm

South Coast Dairy Ltd has been granted land-use consents by the Southland District Council for gravel construction and building construction at its proposed dairy conversion at Curio Bay.

District Council resource management manager Bruce Halligan said two land-use consents – to extract 9,000m3 of gravel and to establish and operate a dairy shed and six-bay implement shed within the coastal resource area - were granted with 27 conditions by Council.

These conditions include ongoing monitoring for compliance with conditions and carrying out landscaping to mitigate the visual effects of the activities.

Council and Environment Southland heard South Coast Dairy’s application at a joint hearing on 1 and 2 April in Invercargill.

More than 100 submissions to the application were made, and the applicant and several submitters were heard at this hearing.

South Coast Dairy Ltd sought land use consents from the Southland District Council because under the Southland District Plan, the buildings require resource consent as their sites are located in the Coastal Resource Area under the District Plan.

Councillors who heard the application considered very closely the information presented by the applicant and also the strong concerns expressed by the numerous submitters to the proposal, Mr Halligan said.

“The committee noted that in relation to the effects of the proposed building, visual effects would be mitigated by the removal of several existing buildings so therefore the extent of built structures in the area would not be significantly greater.”

The committee also closely scrutinised the extent of the gravel extraction proposed from two extraction sites on the property, and noted this extraction was not significantly greater than what the District Plan allowed as of right and was not large in the context of other extractions occurring within the province.

“Effects of this extraction could be mitigated by the imposition of suitable conditions, which included a requirement that the bulk of the gravel extraction occur on the less visually prominent extraction site, and ongoing monitoring for compliance.”

Most of the submissions expressed concern over the potential effects of dairy effluent discharge on the environment, which is under Environment Southland's jurisdiction under the Resource Management Act 1991.

Environment Southland is yet to release its decision on the water and discharge consents sought.