New Zealand: Site of Year Award Goes to Pokeno Developer

Site of Year Award Goes to Pokeno Developer

The Dines Group has picked up a premier environmental protection award for ‘outstanding’ work at its Village Lifestyle industrial and residential development sites at Pokeno.

The group has just been awarded Waikato Regional Council’s Site of the Year Award for ‘Best Practice – Erosion and Sediment Control’ for 2013.

The council’s land and soil programme manager Grant Blackie said the Dines Group have consistently demonstrated best practice on these sites to a very high standard over the past two and a half years.

“Their compliance history has also been to a very high level, in part due to a ‘culture of care’ within the organisation during the earthworks construction period,” said Mr Blackie.

Meanwhile, for the second year running, HEB Construction Limited were recipients of the ‘Innovative Practice – Erosion and Sediment Control’ award for works undertaken in relation to the State Highway One Atiamuri Bridge project between Tokoroa and Taupo.

Transpower were runners-up to HEB in this category due to its work relating to the creation of the platforms and installation of the pylons on the Whakamaru C Line.

Mr Blackie said that all winning sites were ones which consistently strived to achieve outstanding levels of compliance for earthworks, and ensure that all parties work together closely on environmental protection.

“Earthworks carried out without adequate erosion and sediment controls can significantly impact on aquatic ecology and water quality in our region” said Mr Blackie.

“All parties involved in the works these awards relate to have made an outstanding effort to exceed compliance expectations in implementing best practice erosion and sediment controls for earthworks.”

The ‘Site of the Year’ awards were introduced as a way of highlighting and promoting excellence in best practice and innovative methods on earthworks projects, that are undertaken in an environmentally sensitive way.

“One of the council’s three flagship goals is to sustain land and water resource in our region and it is great to see the improvement in best practice over recent years that contributes to that goal,” said Mr Blackie.

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Press Release, September 19, 2013