River Gravel Extraction Plan Hits Speed Bump

Thursday, 23 October 2025, 4:45 pm
Article: David Hill - Local Democracy Reporter

A company that wants to extract gravel from a Canterbury river has been told to provide more details on how it plans to mitigate the risk to water quality. Local residents have raised concerns that extracting gravel from Waipara River would impact local wildlife, including lizards, longfin eels and birdlife. 

Commissioners appointed by Environment Canterbury (ECan) held a hearing in Waipara last week to consider the resource consent application from North Canterbury Quarries Ltd. 

The company wants to extract 100,000 cubic metres of gravel from the river bed, about 2.5km to 6.5km upstream of the State Highway 1 bridge, over a five-year period. In a report to the hearing, ECan consents planner Khaylm Marshall said the applicant had provided ‘‘insufficient information’’ on how it would mitigate the adverse effects of the extraction on water quality, ecosystems and the natural character of the Waipara River. 

The hearing was adjourned and the commissioners will now ask the applicant to provide additional information before the company has its final right of reply, an ECan spokesperson said. Speaking to Local Democracy Reporting earlier this year, the company’s managing director Jon Thompson said the location was chosen based on a recommendation from ECan river engineers, to reduce flood risk. 

He said he was aware of the environmental concerns and had commissioned an ecologist’s report. The application is opposed by local residents, who have formed the Middle Waipara Protection Group. 

The group’s spokesperson Liz Dickson, who’s property is on the river bank facing the proposed site, said the river is home to lizards, longfin eels, and birdlife, including black-fronted tern, banded dotterel and South Island pied oyster catchers. 

Local lizard species include the Waitaha gecko and Canterbury grass skinks, which are both classified as ‘‘at risk, declining’’. 

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

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