A south Auckland-based trucking company and its owner has been fined $45,000 for operating out of a property that wasn't consented to be a depot.
The owner and company pleaded guilty to five charges of breaching the Resource Management Act after turning a quiet rural area into a "highly adverse" environment for neighbouring residents.
In a statement, Auckland Council said the offending occurred between June 2023 and February 2024 when the defendants operated an non-consented trucking depot at Kaipara Rd, south Auckland.
Mohammed Anwar was individually fined $30,000 and his company a further $15,000.
Anwar and Mobeen Transport Ltd were sentenced on charges of contravening a district rule through the non-consented operation of a trucking depot at Kaipara Rd in Papakura and for contravening an abatement notice requiring them to cease operating the depot.
Large trucks and piles of tyres were identified on site in continued breach of an abatement notice issued in August 2019.
In May 2023, Anwar was issued with an abatement notice in response to a similar operation of an non-consented trucking depot at Airfield Rd, which required him to remove all trucks, structures, and equipment from the depot by July 2023.
Anwar failed to comply and continued his trucking activities, before eventually complying with the abatement notice in February this year after criminal proceedings had commenced.
Auckland Council's head of investigations, David Pawson, said the ruling was a great outcome for neighbouring residents.
"The defendants' unconsented activities in a rural area caused distress to neighbouring residents, including loss of enjoyment, loss of sleep from the frequent sound of trucks, damage to roads, and frustration towards the unwelcome operation of a trucking depot near their homes."
At sentencing, Judge Dickey said the offending was "serious".
"The effects on the amenity of the neighbouring environment were highly adverse and the defendants were highly culpable," she said.
The court also noted that the defendants' lack of concern for their neighbours was striking.
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