Gravel Extraction

If the extraction site is located within the Hawkes Bay Regional Council Global Gravel Extraction area, please send the enquiry to the gravel’s office in the first instance (Regional Asset Management).

If the extraction is located outside the Hawkes Bay Regional Council Global Gravel Extraction Area you will need to apply for a resource consent with the consents team.

Yes, there are additional costs associated with processing a private resource consent compared to applying for an allocation under the Global Gravel Consents. The authorised extractor process through the Regional Assets Team has lower associated costs.

Where your application has been declined through the global consent process, you have the option of approaching the consents team regarding opportunities for a applying for a resource consent.

Please note the consents team rely on the same information the gravels team do to allocate gravel and may not be able to allocate any additional volume.

Section 58 of the Ngāti Pāhauwera Treaty Claim Settlement Act 2012 restricts anyone taking hāngi stones from the bed of the Mohaka or To Hoe Rivers without the written consent of the trustees of the Ngāti Pāhauwera Development Trust.

Any gravel extraction from these rivers is likely to result in the taking of hāngi stones, whether this is the intent of the extraction or not, as such approval is needed from the Ngāti Pāhauwera Development Trust prior to HBRC being able to process or issue a resource consent.

If written approval is not obtained it is considered unlawful to extract Hangi Stones from the Mohaka or Te Hoe Rivers.

Please start a dialog of consultation with Ngāti Pāhauwera Development Trust prior to submitting the application. This will ensure understanding of the location, volume, timing to provide you with feedback on cultural effects.

If you do not own the land you proposed to use for accessing the area of gravel to be extracted from, please ensure you have approached the landowner before submitting a consent application. Excessive vehicle movements along the river corridor should be avoided as much as possible.

Photographic evidence (with a scale) or drone footage of the proposed extraction site is required for the River Engineering team to undertake the required initial assessments.

If the proposed extraction site has not been surveyed by the council there may be a site visit with engineering to gather information on the extraction site during the consenting process.

Activities to take gravel can include a number of conditions, depending on the nature of the activity and the sensitivity of the surrounding environment, eg. requirements to undertake nesting bird surveys etc.

We expect the applicant to have undertaken a feasibility assessment on their own exclusive of the consenting process. Hawke's Bay Regional Council does not guarantee the quality of the material, only allocates the volumes available to ensure a sustainable volume is extracted.

If you hold a resource consent to extract gravel, you will be required to pay compliance monitoring for that consent.

In addition to direct compliance monitoring of your consent, you will be required to pay a gravel extraction fee based on the volume of gravel extracted.

The gravel extraction fees cover the costs borne by the Regional Council to monitor the state of rivers, the impact of gravel abstraction on flood carrying capacity, and on the ecological, cultural and other values of the rivers.

For more information, see our current Annual Plan and associated Fees and Charges Schedule.