End to burnoffs in bay after consent refused

A remote Marlborough Sounds bay community has been refused consent to keep burning green waste in its ‘‘outstanding natural landscape’’.

The burnoffs at Duncan Bay, in Tennyson Inlet, had been managed by the residents’ association since at least the 1980s. But the group was told in 2019 it would need to seek resource consent for the first time, under the Marlborough District Council’s new environmental plan.

The move prompted a small group of disapproving residents to try to block the green waste fire due to environmental concerns, including smoke in their ‘‘pristine’’ community.

A social media post made by one of the property owners backing the burnoff became last-minute evidence from opponents, who said it showed the amount of smoke created was greater than what the association claimed.

The post on Richard Smedley’s Facebook page included a photograph of smoke from a burn pile in 2019, described in the post as a ‘‘massive mushroom cloud’’, which contrasted against his consent submission that smoke did not ‘‘accumulate’’ in the bay and rarely rose high enough to be visible from nearby bays.

Smedley declined to comment on the post when contacted in March, saying he did not want to affect the commissioner’s decision by speaking out of turn.

The Duncan Bay Residents Association, which managed the joint burn pile on behalf of 76 property owners, said in its resource application they had no support from the council for keeping the roads clear of bush, so they managed overgrowth themselves.

Without a burn pile they would need to drive all the way to Blenheim or Nelson to dispose of green waste.

The association proposed up to 10 burnoffs a year, depending on fire