Hillside hive location approved for Kawerau
29 December 2014
THE hill beside Kawerau’s transfer station is about to become a hive of insect activity now Kawerau District Council has granted consent to locate bees there.
At a regulatory and services committee meeting on Tuesday, the council considered an application to move 30 beehives to a spot parallel with the town’s transfer station.
Operations and services manager Tom McDowall said the council-owned land was already leased but the lessee had agreed to have the hives moved to the site.
He said other people would not be impacted by the bees because of the area’s height and distance from other boundaries. One concern Mr McDowall raised for the council to consider was a need for after-hours access to the site as hives were moved at night. Mr McDowall said having extra bees around was good for the town because the insects were helpful for pollination.
Instead of leasing the land the council approved the use of the site to the beekeeper with a number of conditions.
The hives should not interfere with the council’s transfer station operations or prompt justifiable complaints from the public, the bees could not cause an inconvenience for adjoining properties and the hive owner would have to comply with the bylaw for keeping bees.
The agreement would last for two years and the council could withdraw approval during this time after giving a month’s notice.
Councillor Stephen Tuhoro declared a non-pecuniary conflict of interest and abstained from voting.
Source: Whakatane Beacon