West Auckland farmer Greg Jonkers is slamming the city council after returning home from feeding his cows to find a large hole in his driveway.
It turns out the hole was to make way for a cellphone tower that was consented to by Auckland Council, blocking the only legal access he has to part of his property.
After finding the hole, Jonkers took matters into his own hands - refilling it with a digger and blocking it off with farm vehicles.
"We went down to feed our cows, came back and here's a big pile of dirt in my gateway," he told AM on Thursday.
"Low and behold, they had dug a hole fair in the middle of my gateway.
"I'm very, very, very unhappy.
"It's not on."
Jonkers told AM host Melissa Chan-Green he approached Auckland Council executives about the matter, telling them his family farm had been there for a century.
"They are not interested in talking to me about it or negotiating - I think they're running scared.
"It's disgusting."
He said the driveway in question was crucial, as it was how his chronically ill daughter accessed her tiny home located on the property.
"This is the only legal access for her other than going through other properties… it's not fair that they're blocking her only legal accessway.
"I will fight this, I will not be removing my vehicles. If it comes to me getting arrested, I will stand my ground.
"That is my legal access and it always has been, and it always will be.
"Now other farmers will be thinking around the country… that their accessways will now end up having towers or something built on them."
In a statement, Auckland Council argued it hadn't made any mistake.
"The application by the Rural Connectivity Group (RCG) to establish a cell mast within the road reserve north of the property at 135 Jonkers Rd and south of the property at 130 Jonkers Rd, was assessed as a restricted discretionary activity under the Auckland unitary plan," the statement said. "The Rural Connectivity Group's application proposed to site the mast and equipment within the road reserve, not private land.
"We do not hold any resource consent records which can confirm if the gateway there is consented or not. When the application was lodged and assessed, the gateway was not in use and obstructed by overgrown vegetation.
"Rural communities are crying out for improved mobile and broadband connectivity which does require installation in isolated rural locations.
"While we appreciate the impact that infrastructure like this can have on rural landscapes, a balance needs to be struck between impact on the landscape and the needs of rural communities for improved connectivity," the council said.
