An Upper Hutt food factory that has been breaking the law with noisy bread-making keeping neighbours awake at night, has been told it has two months to fix the problem.
Residents who have been in an almost two-year battle to get Farrah’s flatbread factory in Silverstream to stop breaching the district plan and Resource Management Act say the decision is a relief for their sanity, but fear the fight could be far from over.
“At every stage of this process Farrah’s have caused delays or been granted extensions, meanwhile every additional day without mitigation is another day that residents have to suffer,” resident Logan McLean said.
In a decision released by independent commissioner Robert Schofield on Tuesday , Farrah’s was told it could have resource consent, but must bring down the noise emitted by filling its flour silo by 10 decibels within the next fortnight, and have permanent fixes in place by mid-February.
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Any other factory noise must comply with district plan noise limits by April 1, 2022.
At a resource consent hearing in November, Schofield heard from 20 affected residents, including McLean, who outlined significant health impacts from the noise. Many had been deprived of sleep due to a low hum coming from the factory’s ceiling fans and HVAC units.
Others said they had to quit their jobs or move away because they were driven to distraction.
Ross Giblin/Stuff
The Farrah’s factory has been found to be breaching the RMA and district plan. The company had wanted to keep breaking the law until April 2022.
Repeated tests by noise consultants found both the “incessant droning”, buzzing or humming and silo-filling sounds breached both the Upper Hutt City Council’s district plan and the Resource Management Act (RMA). There have been 302 complaints to the council about the noise from the factory.
In his decision, Schofield said there was no reason why Farrah’s could not comply with the noise standards.
“The sources and nature of the noise emissions are such that they can be remedied, and, based on the expert evidence provided, there are feasible solutions that can be implemented within a short timeframe.”
Schofield granted the consent, provided Farrah’s stuck to its plan to install quieter ceiling fans by the end of January, did not run silos on public holidays or weekends, planted trees to mitigate the visual impact of silos, and used containers as temporary screens to reduce noise until the February deadline.
Ross Giblin/Stuff
The Farrah’s flatbread factory in Silverstream has been granted resource consent, subject to conditions.
Farrah’s was also given approval to build a second flour silo, but only after the company implemented a tree-planting plan.
Farrah’s owner Jovan Čanak said the company remained “relentlessly committed to addressing the noise issues” and a permanent solution was in progress.
“The noise from the flour silo filling has been temporarily mitigated further and has already achieved more than the required reduction.
“All other issues raised in the consent are well on track to be resolved ahead of the Commissioner’s deadlines.”
John Nicholson/Stuff
Farrah’s managing director Jovan Canak (left), pictured with his wife Farrah Canak, wanted permission to fix the noise issue by April. He has only until February.
But McLean was doubtful this was the end of the residents’ battle.
“The Commissioner stated it’s easy to mitigate the noise, so why didn’t Farrah’s do this 20 months ago?”
McLean said he had no confidence the council would act on any future consent breaches.
“It’s of great concern to us that we are still reliant on the council to do their job.
“Promises made in writing at the hearing, including ordering new fans, have already been broken.”
In a brief statement, Upper Hutt City Council’s chief executive, Peter Kelly welcomed the commissioner’s decision and said the council would review it. “We will be a position to respond by the end of the week.”
Noise from the factory’s unconsented flour silo had recently been registering at 58 decibels (dBA) – 8dBA above what’s permitted by the council during daytime hours.
The new consent also requires Farrah’s to start engaging with residents no later than December 29, 2021.
McLean said residents were still waiting for any communication from the company, despite Farrah’s stating publicly it would start to meet with residents to work towards a resolution.
