Chris Skelton/Stuff
Thousands of tyres left in an Amberley yard for years were ignited in a second fire in the yard in three years. The pile of between 120,000 and 160,000 tyres at the Racecourse Rd yard has been the subject of great contention, and even a lengthy court battle, over the past few years. The problems started in February 2016 when Michael Le Roy, the lessee of the yard, started storing tyres at the property for 2016 Tyre Recycling Ltd. The company involved later changed its name to Annexure Tyre Services Ltd, and Peter George Benden became its sole director. In December, Benden was fined $36,000 by the Environment Court for contravening a court order by not removing the tyres.
Chris Skelton/Stuff
Black smoke billows from the fire at the large tyre pile at a yard on Racecourse Rd on Amberley on Friday.
A 63-year-old man who has been charged with arson in relation to a large fire at a massive tyre pile in North Canterbury has been granted interim name suppression on the day he was due to make his first court appearance. The man did not appear in the Christchurch District Court on Tuesday as scheduled, but was granted a registrar’s remand to February 23. On Friday a large fire broke out at the yard on Racecourse Rd in Amberley, leaving a huge plume of smoke billowing into the air so dense it could be seen 45km away in Christchurch.
A North Canterbury community group plans to take the regional council to court after a second tyre fire in three years sent toxic black smoke into the sky.
He said Friday s fire was a “dreadfully sad indictment on so many players”, particularly regional council Environment Canterbury (ECan). “For too long they have left this issue unresolved or even managed to minimise the risk of a large scale fire . by being the responsible party to the situation they are the accountable party.”
Craig Newman
The smoke could be seen from nearby towns, including Christchurch 45km away. Accountability Action planned to lodge an application next week to take ECan to the Environment Court, he said. Fenz said fire crews from Amberley, Waipara, Woodend, Waikari, Sefton, Rangiora and a command unit from Christchurch fought the blaze, which produced “thick black smoke”.
STUFF
The enormous pile of at least 120,000 end-of-life tyres had been the focus of a legal battle for over two years. (Video first published January 11, 2020)
A company director has been ordered to fork out more than $50,000 after leaving North Canterbury residents infuriated by failing to remove a massive pile of tyres from a yard in Amberley. Annexure Services Ltd director Peter George Benden was fined $36,000 by the Environment Court on Wednesday for contravening a court order by not removing the tyres. Benden was also ordered to pay $20,000 towards Environment Canterbury s (ECan) expenses to have the tyres removed. “You have been party to a problem imposed on a community, which you do not have the means to resolve,” Judge John Hassan told him.