Newspaper Article 2005 – Aged yards may give way to new

Aged yards may give way to new

Hastings is set to get new saleyards to replace the century-old Stortford Lodge yards.

Entrepreneur John Roil is seeking Hastings District Council consent to spend about $4 million on building new saleyards on 5ha of 12ha he owns 2.5km south of the existing yards on Maraekakaho Road.

The resource consent process takes about three months and Mr Roil hopes to have the yards built and working by this time next year.

The land is off the road in behind Hawke’s Bay Farmers’ Transport yard.

The new project will include 1ha of covered sheep yards and 600sq m of cattle yards, sealed roads and parking areas, a truck effluent dump, oxidation ponds and a pine plantation with a form of trickle irrigation for effluent disposal.

The project will all be in concrete and the yards themselves will be built in low-maintenance materials.

Landscaping with trees and earth banks will cut noise and dust to neighbouring orchards and businesses.

The Stortford Lodge saleyards on the western side of Hastings were on the edge of town when they were built in 1903.

However, the city has grown around them on their 4ha site.

This has caused problems with smell, dust and noise in the streets around.

The truck turning and parking area is cramped and opens onto a busy road on which children cycle and walk on their way to and from school.

The old yards are wholly owned by Wrightson, who have control over who trades there.

This means they can exclude independent agents if they choose.

The situation at the new yards is likely to be different, with a form of ownership that prevents any one company having the advantage.

All users will pay a fee to the company which would own it.

There have been several moves over the years to have the yards moved from their prime site.

However, such plans have foundered because there has been nowhere else suitable for them to be sited.

Each year, 55,000 cattle and 460,000 sheep go through Stortford Lodge at the twice-weekly sales and annual sheep and cattle fairs.

The latest valuation on the site was $5 million.

Mr Roil said that advantage of his site was that it would take saleyards and trucks out of a residential area into a light industrial zone unlikely to be built up.

It would have more efficient effluent disposal and a truck effluent dump, as well as more room for saleyard activities.

He has support for his proposal from some stock firms, including one from out of Hawke’s Bay looking for a foothold, but main user

Photo caption –
A ewe fair at the Stortford Lodge saleyards, Hastings, pictured in 1930.
CHANGES PLANNED: John Roil at the existing saleyards.

Text on map –

PROPOSED NEW HAWKE’S BAY SALEYARDS
NORTH
IRONGATE RD.
MARAEKAKAHO RD,
Hawkes Bay Farmers’ Transport
ORCHARD
Vehicle access
Shelter planting
HB Gun Club
Ballance Fertiliser
Car parking offices, cafe, amenities & cattle rostrum
Concrete cattle yards
Shelter planting
Truck effluent disposal system & holding tanks
Oxidation pond
IRONGATE STREAM