Countdown fined $750 for infringing their resource consent
Tuesday, 16 June 2015
A Countdown supermarket has been fined $750 for infringing its resource consent before the store is even officially opened.
New Plymouth's newest Countdown supermarket will open for business in Vogeltown Thursday next week.
Even before workers opened its doors the supermarket was fined by the New Plymouth District Council for its employees working at the store on the Sunday of Queen's Birthday weekend, which was outside the hours allowed during its construction.
The fine was the fourth $750 infringement associated with the supermarket. The three others were to do with construction work being undertaken at 10.30pm, 6.10am and 4.30am.
Under the terms of the resource consent, construction noise at the residential supermarket was to be limited between 8am to 5pm Monday to Friday and 8am to 12 noon on Saturdays. Sundays and public holidays were off limits.
Vogeltown resident Rochelle West, whose home backs onto the supermarket site, said the store's record so far did not give her confidence it would make a good neighbour.
'We are concerned as to whether these breaches will continue, particularly in regard to a forklift that generates loud engine and reverse beeper noise and we can hear clearly through closed doors and windows,' she said.
Her husband Warwick Quinn posted several questions on Countdown's Facebook page earlier this week, stating residents who lived beside the supermarket were tired both of the constant noise and lack of communication from Countdown.
'Will Countdown act as a good neighbour and respect those who border the site and adhere to the resource consent conditions,' he asked.
Countdown did not reply directly to Quinn but forwarded a written reply from store manager Stephen Mack to Fairfax.
In it Mack said Countdown would be working hard to be good neighbour and adhere to the conditions of their resource consent and he would be contacting neighbours to invite them to check out the new store in the weekend.
'I'm committed to making sure our store is a valued part of the community and would ask that if any of our neighbours have any concerns when we are up and running, that they should feel free pop over to the store for a chat or give me a call,' he said.
Under the terms of Countdown's resource consent to operate at the site, it can open between the hours of 7am to 10pm and no service or delivery vehicles are allowed on site outside of those hours.
It is New Plymouth's fourth Countdown supermarket.