PROPOSED CONTAINER TERMINAL – TE PUNA STATION ROAD.  APPROVED!

On 7th July 2025, A large container logistics firm, CONTAINERCO has been awarded consent to develop a container facility at 297 Te Puna Station Road

Many Te Puna and other local residents think this is the

WRONG BUSINESS in the WRONG PLACE.

273 Submissions Against and 0 Submissions for the proposal were received by BOPRC And WBOPDC.

Submissions argued that a wide variety of reasons, this proposal was just ridiculous. Traffic, Roading, Road Safety, Ecological, Cultural, Noise, Flooding and Stormwater issues were all raised.  These issues led to strong conditions attached to the consent but did not win it for the community.  On the issuing of the consent, the community shared their shock and disbelief that their rural idyll would now have to deal with an unwanted, noisy facility in its midst.    A major concern is the amount of traffic that the facility will create.  Their proposal quotes 774 vehicles per day with peak traffic times having 125 vehicles per hour.

EMAIL Priortytepuna@gmail.com for further info

COMMUNITY MEETING. 7pm Wednesday 23rd July 2025 at Te Puna Memorial Hall.

We have invited our Mayor, all WBOPDC and BOPRC Councillors plus key team leaders from both councils that deal with compliance, roading safety and environment to our Community Meeting. This is THE opportunity for us to gather ask questions, share our concerns and decide on a way forward. WE NEED YOU to turn out for this event. We have been subjected to over 20 years of developer and council failures in Te Puna. THIS MUST STOP. We need to send a strong message that for Te Puna, things have to change.

BECOME A Priority Te Puna MEMBER https://forms.gle/PXQLZsCtMKkUtSbm9

Become a member and add weight to our voice.  Its free to join and you are free to leave whenever you like.  We value your privacy and will not share your details with third parties without your permission.

READ OUR PETITION HERE https://chng.it/QwrqTyBR5Z

The Petition is to demand public notification  that a particular resource consent application has been received by Council.

PUBLIC MEETINGS 

Our next Meeting will be open to the Community will be at 7pm on Wednesday 23rd July 2025 at Te Puna Memorial Hall .  

Neville Bidois, Derek Masters, Alison Cowley, Paul and Elaine Winwood delivering the petition to Mayor Garry Webber, CEO John Holyoak and Councillor Don Thwaites of WBOPDC.
Photo credit Lizard News.

Thursday the 13th January 2022 a group of Te Puna People delivered this petition to WBOPDC. Delivering the petition were Paul and Elaine Winwood, (direct neighbours of the site), Alison Cowley, (property also looks down the valley and shares valley catchment with the site), Neville Bidois ( Ngati Taka, Pirirakau, local resident) and Derek Masters from DMS.

The petition was received by Mayor Garry Webber, WBOPDC CEO John Holyoak and Councillor Don Thwaites.

Lizard News Matthew Farrell was on hand to take a photo and ask a few questions.

Bay of Plenty Regional Council has been contacted to request a time to deliver a copy of the petition as this site has a network of implications for the environment: physical/ catchment, ecological and human.

What is the threat?

774 vehicle movements are expected each day.  This figure is taken from the decision document. This will affect anyone who uses the routes of SH2, Minden Roundabout, Te Puna Road, Te Puna Station Road.  

Operational Noise Pollution.  This is likely to affect most of Te Puna.  Certainly Teihana Road, Clarke Road, Te Puna Station Road, Te Puna Road, James Road, Lochhead Road, Armstrong Road and Borrell Road.  Heavy Traffic, Container Operations and Refurbishment noise.

Visual Eyesore.  Containers will be stacked to 9 m high on a platform that has been raised 3.62m

Environmental impact.  Heavy traffic has environmental impacts for the entire community.  The Hakao Stream which has headwaters on the Minden Ridge runs through this land.  There are other underwater streams which will be impacted by container storage.    The land is classed as liquefaction land.  The nearby Wairoa River and Tauranga Harbour are at risk of pollution.  

Alternative Solution.  Land was allocated for this purpose elsewhere in Tauranga with ready made infrastructure.  This land is fit for purpose and offers an alternative solution for a Container Storage Terminal.  Use allocated land and NOT Te Puna Station Road. 

 LINKS TO RESOURCES

Facebook group link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/wrongbusinesswrongplacetepuna

Resource Consent Application Documents: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1aFw7ww3wAIUYKmOhax4ghryMR9Q5TUZ5?usp=sharing

Resource Consent Decision Document: https://drive.google.com/file/d/19oAyLfr4IO_J1S392-B1wTTger6ZqPte/view?usp=sharing

 WBOPDC Conditions: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jaE-5n_e_W5nsumgKQng-TjSx4U16-5V/view?usp=sharing

 BOPRC Conditions: https://drive.google.com/file/d/16s8OrIwYyzuBnlzLIYrExBJAUNSzuhbp/view?usp=sharing

Te Puna Business Park Map: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1o0NHhHRqg0aeeZfh9I6qXXiNoePW9a71/view?usp=sharing

Minutes of WBOPDC / Containerco Pre Purchase Meeting 17/3/21:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vat20g-Co9liSwYrl7nthcuu6FzrER5c/view?usp=sharing

2005 Environment Court Judgement 016/2005: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qXnsHXgsgUIjsBLtGQ6UN_4KTDU_zPiy/view?usp=sharing

2005 Environment Court Judgment 091/2005: https://drive.google.com/file/d/15toSiTDwjoKPqElw7aW7SU0h3pw0KeuV/view?usp=sharing

 What can I do?

  1. Come to our meeting  7pm Wednesday 23rd July at Te Puna Memorial Hall. Contact the team at Priority Te Puna if you’d like more info, prioritytepuna@gmail.com
  2. Join the Wrong Business Wrong Place Facebook group. Keep up to date with info or come to this page regularly.
  3. Remind all parties at every opportunity. This site has special caveats and was designated as a rural business park that must remain compatible with the rural community by the Environment Court.
  4. Report ALL dust, spray and other pollution seen at the site to BOPRC Pollution Hotline.

    The Pollution Hotline – 0800 884 883 – is a 24/7 service set up to receive calls regarding pollution related incidents relating to discharges to the land, water and air in the Bay of Plenty. It is always best to contact the Pollution Hotline at the time the pollution related incident is occurring and it is very helpful to be as descriptive as possible. For example, including a clear description of the time, date, location and details of the incident. All customer details are treated as strictly confidential.

  5. Report all traffic incidents such as vehicles on the wrong side of the road, vehicles causing hazards, vehicles causing congestion, any near misses or accidents to WBOPDC. 
  6.  Read the decision and conditions. (See above resources) The more people that are familiar with them, the more likely that the Community will identify failures to comply quickly.