Auckland's biggest supplier of sand for concrete has decided to lodge an appeal, after Auckland Council rejected a bid to take more sand from Pakiri Beach.
Pakiri Beach sand dunes. Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi
McCallum Bros has been sucking up sand from three different depths off the beach north of Auckland and wants authorities to rethink its declined 'far shore' application - warning of dire consequences for the construction industry.
It comes after more than 80 years of sand mining at Pakiri Beach, and what some local campaigners see as evidence of environmental harm to the shore and seabed.
Sharley Haddon, who has lived at the beach for more than 50 years, said she heard the thudding of the sand mining barge at night.
Over the course of many "almost daily" walks on the beach, she said she had observed a gradual collapsing of the sand dunes as sand was taken from under the water, along with a decline in shellfish and crayfish stocks.
"There used to be a very high sand dune ... on the shore that the tara iti, or the fairy tern, used to nest on. They're actually programmed to land there and nest there, but now it's gone. Every year they land on the flat and the king tide sweeps away the babies, so [sand mining] has made a big difference."
Pakiri local Sharley Haddon. Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi
The sand is largely used to create concrete - powering Auckland projects including the Sky Tower, Waterview Tunnel, Harbour Bridge and the under-construction City Rail Link.
Some is also used to top up inner city beaches like Kohimarama and Mission Bay, and some is used in the creation of horse racing tracks, golf courses, and sports turfs.
Auckland Council commissioners said McCallum failed to supply evidence that continued sand mining at the far depth would not harm the seabed, beach, or marine and bird life.
It declined a request to take another two million cubic metres of sand from March 2023 to March 2043.
Company director Callum McCallum and chief operating officer Shayne Elstob now plan to challenge that decision in the Environment Court.
"We don't believe they really took notice of the facts. A lot of the decision is based on the anecdotal evidence. It wasn't based on this report. We simply don't agree with the findings. We think there is a basis for an appeal," Elstob said.
The company claim the environment will be worse off they have to source more sand from elsewhere.
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Beyond Parkiri, the other main consented source of sand for Auckland concrete is the Kaipara Harbour on Northland's West Coast.
Elstob argues taking more sand from there and then trucking it down to Auckland would churn thousands more tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere each year, raising road congestion and transport costs.
Additionally, McCallum said Kaipara Harbour's sand supply was already "basically maxxed out".
And there was no slowing in demand for concrete, Elstob said.
"The industry is really concerned about this. Because despite the findings of the commissioners, there is a real scarcity of cement. Those volumes [of sand] aren't easy to find, consented volumes. So there's a real problem looming," he said.
The Aggregate and Quarry Association fear Auckland Council's decision will set a precedent for other similar applications.
Simon Gundry, who has been a concrete contractor in Auckland for more than 50 years, said two of the city's four major concrete suppliers used Pakiri sand.
It would exasperate existing "chronic shortages" of materials - with GIB board, timber and concrete already scarce, he said.
"In my field of concrete construction, it's a major problem every week trying to source concrete and program jobs. And I think most construction companies are like that, in the Auckland area."
But environmental campaigners at the Pakiri group Save Our Sand are dismissing the industry's claims as "scaremongering".
They believed a concrete supply crisis was unlikely, while the white grains of Pakiri - which originate from the Waikato River - were irreplaceable.
Haddon believed mining companies simply saw Pakiri Beach as a cheap and easy resource.
She thought it was time to consider alternatives, like manufactured sand - especially with the company's other two resource consents coming up for review in July or August.
"I think it would be a great shame if the council and our government - who are both crying out about the environment and climate change - don't put their feet down and say no."
McCallum plan to lodge an appeal for the first resource consent before the end of the month.
