A mask hangs on an old portrait of Anna and Neil Youngman's baby son in their Old West Coast Rd home.

A quarrying company has been given permission to expand in rural Christchurch, despite residents complaining of major health problems and the serious concerns of health bosses.

Commissioners appointed by Environment Canterbury (ECan) and Christchurch City Council gave the green light on Friday for Road Metals to enlarge its operations in Yaldhurst, meaning it can quarry land just 100m from people's properties.

The decision has left residents furious and heartbroken, with some saying the move is the final straw that will force them from their homes.

Many have serious health issues they and doctors attribute to quarry dust, from itchy eyes and racking coughs to bleeding noses and respiratory illnesses.

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Some feel health chiefs who championed their cause were "muzzled" and denied the chance to voice their concerns during last month's consent hearing.

In an email signed off by medical officer of health Dr Alistair Humphrey, the Canterbury District Health Board wrote to ECan in January to oppose the expansion, saying the application should be declined if quarrying activities were not set back at least 500m from the edge of property boundaries.

ALDEN WILLIAMS/STUFF Road Metals has been given permission to expand its quarry at Yaldhurst to include this paddock, just 115m from a resident's boundary.

But an ECan consents planner decided the opinion of health bosses should not be among the submissions at the hearing.

Instead it was consigned to a single paragraph of a 54-page report by ECan, one of more than 30 submission documents provided for commissioners.

Residents were forced to include the CDHB concerns in their own submissions, and say the final decision was based partly on the opinions of consultants employed directly by the quarrying company.

Soraya Nicholas, an author and trained lawyer who lives nearby and spoke at the hearing on behalf of neighbours, said people were "absolutely devastated" at the outcome.

She described it as a "kick in the face" that commissioners had not followed up with the CDHB since the hearing, and said residents would appeal against the decision in the Environment Court.

"We haven't been left with any other option. At least we know we can have the CDHB there as a witness."

ALDEN WILLIAMS/STUFF Soraya Nicholas, who helped her neighbours fight the Road Metals expansion, says the decision has left people "devastated".

Road Metals, a family-owned business that has been operating in Canterbury from Yaldhurst for almost 30 years, applied to ECan in September to expand its site by 13 hectares – a move managing director Murray Francis said was vital to help meet Christchurch's gravel needs and for the business to thrive.

The company intends to quarry the expanded site for five years, removing up to 400 tonnes of aggregate every hour so it can be crushed at a different part of the site.

The land needed has three residential properties on it and 14 others within 250m – two owned by Road Metals – as well as a scout camp nearby.

ALDEN WILLIAMS/STUFF Yaldhurst has one of Canterbury's densest populations of quarries, with sites almost on people's doorsteps.

The company has come to an agreement with the three property owners, as well as a fourth whose property is just 10m from the boundary of the proposed site.

The city council, Department of Conservation and the local rūnanga were told of the application less than a week after it was lodged, but the CDHB was not informed for another four and a half months, at the end of January – and then was given just two working days to reply.

But ECan officials had already decided a month before that the application should be "limited notified", meaning only residents living within 250m of the proposed expansion would be allowed to have their say at the hearing.

ECan officials decided the CDHB, which raised concerns the 100m setback distance could be at odds with Government guidelines for managing dust, international recommendations and the Canterbury Air Regional Plan, should only be informed as an "interested party", denying health bosses the chance to speak out formally.

ALDEN WILLIAMS/STUFF Anna Youngman, who has long suffered from health problems she and her doctors attribute to quarry dust, says the move could force her and her husband from their home.

A CDHB spokeswoman told Stuff that if it had had a chance to include a submission, it would have worked through a "detailed risk assessment" of the potential health risks of the expansion.

But she said health bosses did not feel they had been "denied" the chance to speak, saying: "There is no obligation on Environment Canterbury's (ECan's) part to incorporate our views. We hope they do, but there is no obligation."

An ECan spokeswoman said the organisation had advised interested parties "as a courtesy", but did not say why the CDHB was not allowed to make a formal submission. but that the decision was made under the Resource Management Act.

During the hearing 11 applicants gave evidence in favour of the expansion, including planning and air quality specialists employed by Road Metals, who told commissioners the effects of increased activities would be minor at most.

Road Metals has been granted permission to quarry 13 hectares, labelled as RM4. Bosses say the move is vital to help meet Christchurch's gravel needs.

But an ECan consents planner recommended the application be declined, saying the impact of nuisance dust would be "more than minor".

Nine residents fought the application, many voicing alarm that the CDHB was not allowed its say and citing concerns over the dangers to their health of silica dust.

But Road Metals offered a host of mitigation measures, including building high bunds around the site, keeping activities to at least 100m from properties and stopping activities on windy days, damping gravel with water and keeping to slow speeds to help avoid dust problems.

Granting their approval for the expansion, the commissioners said dust levels would likely "be consistent with what can be anticipated in this rural environment".

ALDEN WILLIAMS/STUFF The quarrying industry has exploded in Yaldhurst in recent years as quarry owners seek to capitalise on the Christchurch rebuild.

"We conclude that ambient air quality and local rural amenity values will be maintained, in terms of the levels of dust nuisance that can be anticipated in this area, being a small-scale rural working environment that is in relatively close proximity to some large quarries and aggregate processing plants."

The commissioners also said that while they do not question the evidence of residents over the health effects they have experienced, "we do not consider that we have been provided with sufficient evidence to conclude that PM10 and RCS (dust and silica dust) emissions from existing quarries are the cause of the reported effects".

The expansion can now go ahead once a silica dust monitoring programme in Yaldhurst is completed - expected in July - and if it returns results below strict international standards.

Living under a cloud in the land of quarries

At the end of a tree-lined drive in Yaldhurst live Anna Youngman and her husband Neil.

The couple bought the 14-acre block on Old West Coast Rd almost two decades ago as their "ideal home" – a cosy retreat in which to spend their twilight years after careers as commercial farmers on the Banks Peninsula.

To the casual observer the house is immaculate - plates and decorations adorn the walls, a beautiful rug sits neatly in front of a fireplace and a wooden drinks cabinet holds all sorts of delights.

ALDEN WILLIAMS/STUFF Residents believe their health is suffering from ever more quarry dust - and some, like Anna Youngman, are resorting to drastic measures to protect themselves.

But in the hallway, dangling from a faded photograph of their son as a baby, is a facemask – the only visible evidence of the struggle the Youngmans endure from living opposite a quarry.

"The dust levels, when the quarry is crushing, it's very hard to breathe," Anna Youngman said. "My eyes start to run and I wouldn't do anything inside without wearing a mask, which is most uncomfortable."

ALDEN WILLIAMS/STUFF Anna and Neil Youngman have lived on the Old West Coast Rd for 18 years, but fear the new quarry may mean their days there are numbered.

Youngman's home is within 500m from the Road Metals quarry expansion but over 250m away, meaning she did not have chance to object at the hearing.

She was shocked and heartbroken the proposal was granted, and said she and her husband might now have to move.

"I can't see how the health issues haven't been enough to put a halt to it. That is what has shocked me the most.

"I'm not against quarrying – certainly there's a need for it – but not on rural land right up against neighbours."

ALDEN WILLIAMS/STUFF The expansion, granted by commissioners on Friday, will mean quarrying will take place little more than 100m from Annell McDonagh's property.

Across the road Annell McDonagh lives on a lifestyle block with her husband, Craig, and children Briana and Jacob. It has been their home for the past 10 years.

The McDonaghs are surrounded by quarries, and the extension will bring the Road Metals site to within 115m of their boundary.

It shows in their health, they believe. Annell McDonagh is on strong antibiotics after struggling with breathing issues, and she and her husband suffer from nosebleeds, which she puts down to dust in the air.

Speaking before Friday's decision to grant the expansion, she said: "If Road Metals get their extension there will be even more open area that will expose us to crystalline silica, which is a big concern".

McDonagh said she thought the CDHB had been "muzzled" by not having the opportunity to speak at the hearing.

"Why would Environment Canterbury, who are supposed to be there for the residents, to protect the environment and our health, why would they exclude the CDHB?

"Health should take priority and the CDHB should be listened to."