Te Kōwhai residents fear large stockpile of explosives near school, childcare centre

A large stockpile of the potentially explosive ammonium nitrate is being stored in the small Waikato town of Te Kowhai, without resource consent. Ammonium nitrate is the chemical that caused a major explosion in Beirut in 2020, when it was stored incorrectly. While the risk of it exploding has been assessed as "low", the storage of up to 349 tonnes of the material has alarmed the local community. Within just two kilometres of the site is a school, a childcare centre and a retirement village. It's also very close to a major gas pipeline. The Waikato Times has reported the material is owned by Australian company Orica, but is transported and stored in New Zealand by Move Logistics. It's now stored on a property owned by local company The Lummys Block Limited -- without resource consent -- the application has since been lodged and is sitting with the Waikato District Council. Kathryn speaks with Brian Palmer, chair of the Te Kowhai Community Group and Stephen Darby who owns the local childcare centre.